said at what temperature they usually drank it

March 25, 2019 9:58 AM

Drinking very hot tea linked with risk of 1 type of oesophageal cancer [NHS Behind the Headlines] "A study of more than 50,000 people in Iran showed that those who drank 700ml (about 2 to 3 mugs) of black tea a day at temperatures of 60C or above were almost twice as likely to go on to get oesophageal cancer during 10 years of follow-up in the study, compared with people who drank tea at lower temperatures." A prospective cohort study, "it cannot prove that one directly causes the other, as other factors may be involved."
posted by readinghippo (52 comments total)

Oh, cool! Barring accidents and murder, now I know what kills me!
posted by Caduceus at 10:04 AM on March 25, 2019 [13 favorites]

Literally brewing a pot of tea as I read this (first flush darjeeling at 185 degrees F).

Choosing to just not integrate this study into my mental model of the world.

Surely climate change will get me before the hot tea does.
posted by dis_integration at 10:09 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

I just wanted to say that I love those NHS summaries of research. They should be the de fact standard for popular reporting of studies -- they clearly and without sensationalism explain what the study shows, what its limitations are, and what you're supposed to do about it.
posted by yankeefog at 10:12 AM on March 25, 2019 [20 favorites]

After I read this a few days ago, it did prompt me to wait a little while longer before taking my first sip of any given cup of tea, and to make sure it wasn't still painfully hot before gulping it down anyway.

Probably a good idea regardless. I suppose I should measure the temperature at which I subjectively think it's OK just to make sure my temperature-sensing apparatus isn't totally off. For science.
posted by asperity at 10:20 AM on March 25, 2019

I'd say I'm fucked, but OTOH the various cups of lukewarm and cold tea that I have scattered around the house/office because I forgot them and brewed a new cup, and then find later and drink out of reflex because I've lost track of which one is the fresh cup. . . all that horrible lukewarm tea might save me.
posted by barchan at 10:23 AM on March 25, 2019 [13 favorites]

"Of course, it's not a good idea to repeatedly burn your mouth and throat with hot drinks of any sort, so allowing beverages to cool before drinking them is sensible." - FTFA

I'm sick of Big Government telling me what I can't do!

*down a huge gulp of boiling water straight from the kettle*
posted by tobascodagama at 10:26 AM on March 25, 2019 [21 favorites]

The solution is to use mugs / teacups without handles. If it's not too hot to hold, it's not too hot to drink.
posted by chavenet at 10:27 AM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

According to this, where 60c=140f:

Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150 degree water for two seconds. Burns will also occur with a six-second exposure to 140 degree water or with a thirty second exposure to 130 degree water. Even if the temperature is 120 degrees, a five minute exposure could result in third-degree burns.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:27 AM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

it cannot prove that one directly causes the other, as other factors may be involved.

And that's the ballgame.
posted by East14thTaco at 10:28 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

What about hot food
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:30 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

What about hot food

Put milk on the hot thing so is less hot like tea in the UK.
posted by readinghippo at 10:32 AM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

it cannot prove that one directly causes the other, as other factors may be involved.

Life'll kill you, man.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:36 AM on March 25, 2019

I feel like every cancer study like this falls into the broader category of "if you repeatedly abuse a part of your body, it will be more likely to get cancer."
posted by phooky at 10:40 AM on March 25, 2019 [17 favorites]

NHS, literally spilling the tea on the subject of tea.
posted by Fizz at 10:44 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have always wondered how people can drink things that are so damn hot since I burn my mouth on most coffee. Finally someone explained to me that people build up a tolerance to heat. I drink tea a few times a week and I just replaced my electric kettle to one that has auto shutoff, but only at boiling. I don't generally brew in boiling water, so I just turn it off when it starts to get loud. I still have ice cubes handy.
posted by soelo at 10:52 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

Maybe they were drinking a lot of hot tea because their throats were already bothering them? I’d be interested to see it the same correlation is true for drinkers of hot coffee.
posted by sallybrown at 10:52 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

A cool thing to do with tea you want to drink is to put ice in it, which is evidently less deadly than drinking it hot.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:52 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

first flush darjeeling at 185 degrees F

Monster
posted by Cosine at 10:53 AM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

I feel like every cancer study like this falls into the broader category of "if you repeatedly abuse a part of your body, it will be more likely to get cancer."

Honestly, even without the cancer stuff, if you're giving yourself minor throat and mouth burns on a daily basis, it seems like you should probably stop doing that thing in that exact way.
posted by Copronymus at 10:55 AM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

What is more important to know, IMHO, is the increase in mouth cancer risk amongst those impatient idiots--whom I in no way resemble--who spend an entire lifetime repeatedly burning their palates on pizza straight out of the oven.
posted by drlith at 10:59 AM on March 25, 2019 [17 favorites]

those impatient idiots--whom I in no way resemble--who spend an entire lifetime repeatedly burning their palates on pizza straight out of the oven.

COLD. PIZZA. THE. MORNING. AFTER. WHILE. STANDING. AT. THE. FRIDGE.

You're welcome.
posted by Fizz at 11:05 AM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

I'm sick of Big Government telling me what I can't do!

*down a huge gulp of boiling water straight from the kettle*

Getting throat cancer to own the libs, I like it.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 11:08 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

The severe ADD approach could be worth investigating. Just now, I made tea and then forgot about it while I was playing guitar. The tea had cooled to a reasonable temperature by the time I discovered it on the counter. Who knew the solution to my problem was inside me all along?
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:11 AM on March 25, 2019 [7 favorites]

COLD. PIZZA. THE. MORNING. AFTER. WHILE. STANDING. AT. THE. FRIDGE.

But it’s still frozen.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 11:13 AM on March 25, 2019

first flush darjeeling at 185 degrees F

Monster

Too hot? too cold? Genuinely confused!
posted by dis_integration at 11:28 AM on March 25, 2019

as someone often ridiculed for liking my brew and my pint about the same temperature, I feel somewhat vindicated.
posted by runincircles at 11:28 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

I feel like every cancer study like this falls into the broader category of "if you repeatedly abuse a part of your body, it will be more likely to get cancer."

Genital cancer it is, then.
posted by dephlogisticated at 11:28 AM on March 25, 2019 [35 favorites]

What is more important to know, IMHO, is the increase in mouth cancer risk amongst those impatient idiots--whom I in no way resemble--who spend an entire lifetime repeatedly burning their palates on pizza straight out of the oven.

You know that lil bump thing on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth? Google says it's called the incisive papilla? Well a week ago I was presented with a freshly baked bowl of totinos pizza rolls and FOOLISHLY grabbed one and bit into it, and I swear I cauterized that fucking thing right off with pizza roll magma. AGONY. I could barely brush those teeth for a week. And now I'm scared I'm gonna get Bump Cancer.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:30 AM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]

You're not going to get Bump Cancer because you already gave yourself a prophylactic bumpectomy.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:32 AM on March 25, 2019 [10 favorites]

IANAD &c., but I believe that this is uncontroversial. Lots of study of this over the years.
posted by Glomar response at 11:43 AM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Well I guess now I have a good rejoinder for if any coffee snobs give me shit for taking cream in my coffee
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:46 AM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

You know, I kinda suspected drinking boiling hot tea might not be super healthy because of the excruciating pain that I constantly felt, the 3rd degree burns, the internal bleeding and not being able to eat solids, but now I just don't know anymore. What if I pour the boiling water over my face, surely that can't be as bad?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:47 AM on March 25, 2019 [8 favorites]

I just wanted to say that I love those NHS summaries of research. They should be the de fact standard for popular reporting of studies -- they clearly and without sensationalism explain what the study shows, what its limitations are, and what you're supposed to do about it.

I totally agree--whoever wrote this has a good grasp of plain language guidelines. I only wish half the stuff that comes out of my local health authority were written so clearly!

This study makes a lot of sense to me. I was diagnosed with severe acid reflux a couple of years ago, and one of the things that was impressed on me was that if I did not get it under control, I would be increasing my risk of esophageal cancer (as noted further down in the article). It stands to reason that if repeated exposure to acid can cause the cells to change and become cancerous, damaging them in some other way could do the same thing.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:57 AM on March 25, 2019 [5 favorites]

I know one Iranian well, and he indeed drinks tea and has an esophagus in a pre-cancerous state. His tea-brewing technique didn't seem hotter than my tea brewing technique.
posted by acrasis at 12:00 PM on March 25, 2019

Too hot? too cold? Genuinely confused!

Darjeeling should be brewed at 195f... at least... I mean... if you're human.
posted by Cosine at 12:08 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Too hot? too cold? Genuinely confused!

Darjeeling should be brewed at 195f... at least... I mean... if you're human

I find that the first flush is too delicate and its aroma and flavors are ruined at higher temps. It's almost like a green tea. It's also great coldbrewed, overnight in the fridge.
posted by dis_integration at 12:21 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

COLD. PIZZA. THE. MORNING. AFTER. WHILE. STANDING. AT. THE. FRIDGE.

The hard part is having leftovers in the first place
posted by entropone at 12:22 PM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

>> Most adults will suffer third-degree burns if exposed to 150 degree water for two seconds. Burns will also occur with a six-second exposure to 140 degree water or with a thirty second exposure to 130 degree water.

But hot drinks don't stay at that temperature that long when in contact with cooler tissues do they? A small sip of 140 degree water in contact with the throat won't be 140 degrees 5 1/2 seconds later.

I sip my first few ml of a hot drink, mixing it with cooler air. If I put a lid with a damned hole in it & try to drink through that, I inevitably end up with a bigger, all-liquid bolus of lava and burn the shit out of my mouth & throat.
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 12:23 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

I always wonder about how I'm supposed to apply tea and coffee brewing temperature instructions when the local boiling point of water is <203F (<95C).
posted by asperity at 12:29 PM on March 25, 2019

I am an ice tea fan from way back -- Mother's ice tea was made just like Grandma's, etc. -- and there has never been a time in my life when there wasn't a big pitcher of lovely cold tea in the fridge. I LOATHE hot tea. And now I'm medically justified!! Go me!!

Until, of course, it is determined that all those years of ice tea have cancerized my hippocamisolethymusspittler or whatever.
posted by JanetLand at 12:34 PM on March 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

People who prefer their tea very hot might be thermal tasters. Aside from temperature changing our perception of taste, it also changes with age. It's interesting to speculate how much these factors may interact although personally, enjoying very hot tea is a lifelong habit- so far anyway! *Crosses fingers*
posted by Coaticass at 12:42 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

People think I'm nuts because I won't drink hot drinks. "It's unnatural," I tell them. "The devil's temperature." But they keep ordering their venti or talls.
posted by dobbs at 2:05 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

temperatures of 60C or above

Having ordered tea at diners in the US, I can confidently say America is safe from worry about this ever happening.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 2:08 PM on March 25, 2019 [14 favorites]

That's it, I'm hiding the Brown Betty.
posted by clavdivs at 2:15 PM on March 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Reasons Iced Tea Is Superior:
1. This study
2. Refreshing both in winters and in broiling summers
3. After you drink half a glass of iced tea, you can add ice to raise the liquid level, thus creating a loop of tea-flavored homeopathic iced tea that can stretch for DAYS
posted by nicebookrack at 4:39 PM on March 25, 2019 [4 favorites]

My typical tea brewing scheme protects me from Scald Cancer:

1. Pour boiling water over teabag
2. Let steep about 1-1/2 minutes (yes, I prefer a short steep)
3. Get distracted by something on the computer
4. Remember that I made tea.
5. Notice that the tea is now way too over-steeped.
6. Pour another ounce of now-tepid kettle-water into the cup to dilute the tea
7. Reluctantly add generous dollop of honey to mask the taste of tepid, over-steeped-then-diluted tea.
8. “Enjoy”. Maybe with a Fig Newton.
posted by darkstar at 5:38 PM on March 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

Well my one hope is that eating an entire pint of ice cream while lying on the couch cures all ailments.

Oh, it will. It definitely will.



Eventually.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:59 PM on March 25, 2019

You can take my boiling tea from my scalded, dead hands.
posted by nestor_makhno at 11:40 PM on March 25, 2019

Heh. I like my tea to cool for about 15 mins before drinking. Makes me sensible, not crazy, ha!
posted by kitten magic at 3:12 AM on March 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

The article reveals that it's not just tea, it's coffee too! A link between that kind of cancer and hot beverages in general "has been suspected for some time."

I find that I brew most of my oolongs, black teas, and pu-erhs somewhere on a spectrum from 90-100C... I wonder how hot they are at the moment I drink them.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 7:35 AM on March 26, 2019

I think I must be totally desensitized to my scalding hot tea, because 60 C (140 F) doesn't seem that hot to me -- I'm drinking my breakfast tea (Assam tea with cold milk) right now, and have stuck an instant-read thermometer into it which is registering a scalding 63 C (145 F). But if I hadn't measured the temperature that way I wouldn't have considered it overly hot at all...
posted by andrewesque at 4:37 AM on March 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Me too, kitten magic. Mostly though I forget about it -- I put a timer on for when it's steeping, but after that goes off and I've added cream/sugar, I tend to not think about it. Maybe I should put an additional timer on? Eh, I don't mind lukewarm milk tea. And at least it's not giving me cancer.
posted by fiercecupcake at 8:42 AM on March 27, 2019 [1 favorite]