A new study has revealed that the amount of coffee you drink may be genetic.

As one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, a lot of cups of coffee are had in workplaces and homes every day, with some people drinking more than others.

That propensity to knock back a few a day, or to limit yourself to just one or two, may be down to your genes, according to a study published in the the Journal of Scientific Reports. 

The results of the investigation highlighted that the gene known as PDSS2 "has been shown to negatively regulate the expression of the caffeine metabolism genes and can thus be linked to coffee consumption."

Speaking to CNN, lead author Nicola Pirastu of the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics said that they "believe that this PDSS2 genetic variant is impacting coffee drinking through the regulation of the speed at which caffeine is metabolized."

In other words, the variant affects how quickly caffeine degrades in your system, and the people with the PDSS2 gene reported that they consumed fewer cups of coffee than people without it.

The study looked at 370 people from a village in southern Italy, and another 843 people from six different villages in northeast Italy, examining their coffee drinking habits. They also repeated the study with 1,731 participants from the Netherlands, and found broadly similar results. 

The report does conclude that further study will be needed in order to clarify what the exact connection is between the gene and coffee consumption, but it does back up previous research that suggests that your love of espresso may be genetic rather than a disposition of choice. 

If you're genetically predisposed to prefer less coffee, then there's a good chance that you'll be saving more money too, as the cost of your pick-me-up looks set to rise in the coming weeks and months.

Via CNN