The phenetic relationships between 18 Coffea accessions representing 11 of the most important Coffea species employed in current breeding programmes were examined using RAPD markers and chloroplast and mitochondrial genome specific sequence tagged sites (STS). Estimates of variability based on the number of shared RAPD amplification products placed the species into three distinct groups which were consistent with derived chloroplast DNA phenotypes, the geographical origins of the species and previous studies based on morphological characteristics and RFLPs. C. eugenioides (2n = 2x = 22) exhibited the greatest similarity to the cultivated C. arabica (2n = 4x = 44) and may represent its maternal progenitor. The results are discussed in the context of strategies for Coffea improvement.