Scalding Tea and Coffee Linked to Higher Cancer Risk, Study Finds

London (GNP): Regularly drinking tea or coffee at very high temperatures raises the risk of oesophageal cancer, according to new research from Oxford University described as the largest study to date to establish the link. The findings, published in the International Journal of Cancer, draw on data from nearly a million middle-aged men and women and found that people who consumed their drinks very hot faced around three times the risk of the disease compared with those who drank warm tea or coffee.

The study defines any beverage at 65 degrees Celsius or above as very hot and a potential risk factor, a threshold that matches the classification set by the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm in 2016.

Researchers found that consuming six or more hot drinks a day further increased the risk, and cautioned that adding milk, while it cools a drink slightly, does not necessarily bring a cup down to a safe temperature. Tea made immediately after a kettle reaches full boil can sit close to 100 degrees Celsius, cooling to around 90 or 95 degrees once poured, meaning a short wait before drinking makes a meaningful difference.

Lead researcher Dr Keren Papier noted that earlier studies in South America, where a very hot herbal drink called mate is widely consumed, had already pointed to a similar association between beverage temperature and oesophageal cancer. She said further work was still needed to pin down the precise temperatures that carry the greatest risk.

A separate study of 118 young adults tasting different black coffees found most participants judged a drink too hot only once it reached 70 degrees Celsius or higher, while one manufacturer of takeaway cups puts the ideal serving temperature for coffee on the go at between 49 and 60 degrees, rising above 82 degrees only for customers who specifically request an extra hot brew.

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Despite the increased relative risk, researchers stressed that esophageal cancer remains uncommon overall. The squamous cell form of the disease affects only a few thousand people in the UK each year, with roughly one percent of the population facing a lifetime risk of diagnosis. The team estimated that around one or two in every ten cases of this cancer could be prevented if people avoided very hot beverages altogether, though other factors, particularly smoking, carry a greater overall influence on risk.

Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said the practical advice is simply to let a drink cool until it feels comfortable rather than fixating on an exact waiting time. Fiona Osgun of the charity said the most effective ways to lower the risk of this cancer type remain not smoking and cutting back on alcohol. Symptoms of oesophageal cancer can include heartburn, indigestion, pain in the throat or chest, and unexplained weight loss.

Dr Papier said, “More research is now needed to identify the exact drink temperatures linked to this increased risk.”