A large Oxford University study tracking nearly a million people has confirmed what smaller investigations long suggested: the quiet, daily ritual of drinking scalding tea or coffee carries a measurable cost to the body's inner passage. When heat becomes habit, the oesophagus bears the burden — and science now places a number on that burden, finding a threefold rise in cancer risk for those who drink at temperatures of 65°C or above. The remedy, fittingly, asks not for sacrifice but for patience: simply waiting for a drink to cool may be enough to spare the body a slow, cumulative harm.
Very hot drinks linked to higher oesophageal cancer risk, study finds
Three times a small number is still a small number
Mark
So the headline is that hot drinks cause cancer. But what's the actual risk we're talking about here?
Mimi
The study found that people drinking very hot beverages had about three times the risk compared to warm drinkers. But oesophageal cancer is already quite rare—only a few thousand cases a year in the UK.
Luke
Right, and that's the crucial context. Three times a small number is still a small number. The researchers themselves say the overall chances of developing this cancer are low.
Mark
What counts as "very hot" in their study?
Mimi
Sixty-five degrees Celsius or above. When you pour boiling water into a cup, it's around 90 to 95 degrees, so most people drinking tea or coffee fresh from the kettle are well above that threshold.
Luke
But here's what we don't know yet—the researchers say more work is needed to identify the exact temperatures that trigger increased risk. Is it dangerous at 65? At 70? At 80? They haven't pinned that down.
Mark
Can you cool it down enough by adding milk?
Mimi
Not really. Milk brings the temperature down slightly, but a milky tea or coffee can still be far too hot. The advice is just to wait a few minutes before drinking.
Luke
And that's actually doable—a separate study found most people think coffee is too hot around 70 degrees, which is well below boiling. So there's a practical window where it tastes fine but is safer.
Mark
What about people who drink a lot of hot drinks?
Mimi
The study found that six or more hot drinks per day raises the risk. But again, we're talking about a rare cancer overall.
Luke
The researchers estimate that stopping very hot drinks could prevent one or two cases in every ten oesophageal cancers. That's meaningful, but smoking and alcohol are much bigger risk factors for this disease.
Mark
So this isn't a reason to panic?
Mimi
No. It's a reason to let your tea cool down a bit. But the bigger cancer prevention moves are not smoking and not drinking heavily.
Der Puls
- Drinking tea or coffee at 65°C or above triples the risk of oesophageal cancer, according to the largest study ever conducted on this link.
- A freshly boiled kettle pours at 90–95°C, meaning most people begin drinking well inside the danger zone without realising it.
- Six or more hot drinks a day compounds the risk further, and even adding milk offers only marginal protection against the heat.
- Researchers estimate that eliminating very hot drinks could prevent one or two in every ten oesophageal cancer cases — a real but modest gain.
- Smoking and alcohol remain the dominant risk factors, and health authorities stress these as the priority targets for prevention.
A large Oxford University study tracking nearly a million people has confirmed what smaller investigations long suggested: the quiet, daily ritual of drinking scalding tea or coffee carries a measurable cost to the body's inner passage. When heat becomes habit, the oesophagus bears the burden — and science now places a number on that burden, finding a threefold rise in cancer risk for those who drink at temperatures of 65°C or above. The remedy, fittingly, asks not for sacrifice but for patience: simply waiting for a drink to cool may be enough to spare the body a slow, cumulative harm.
Oxford University researchers, tracking nearly a million middle-aged adults, have established the clearest link yet between drinking scalding beverages and oesophageal cancer — the malignancy that forms in the food pipe. Those who regularly consumed tea or coffee at "very hot" temperatures, defined as 65°C or above, faced roughly three times the cancer risk of those who drank the same beverages at more comfortable warmth.
The mechanism is not mysterious. Hot liquid damages the delicate cell lining of the oesophagus each time it passes through. A freshly boiled kettle pours at 90–95°C, placing most cups of tea and coffee well into the danger zone from the first sip. Drinking six or more hot beverages daily raises the risk further, and adding milk provides only marginal cooling — a milky drink can remain dangerously hot despite appearances.
The fix is straightforward, if unglamorous: wait. Cancer Research UK advises holding off until a drink feels comfortable to sip, though pinpointing an exact cooling time remains difficult. Research on young adults found that most only registered black coffee as too hot once it exceeded 70°C — suggesting many people routinely drink at harmful temperatures without noticing.
The findings echo earlier work from South America, where the scalding herbal drink mate has long been associated with the same pattern of harm. Lead researcher Dr. Keren Papier acknowledged that more work is needed to identify precise temperature thresholds, but the direction of evidence is now firm.
Still, the overall risk remains rare. Squamous cell oesophageal cancer affects only a few thousand people in the UK each year, and researchers estimate that avoiding very hot drinks could prevent one or two cases in every ten. Smoking and alcohol carry far greater weight as risk factors. Fiona Osgun of Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, was clear: not smoking and limiting alcohol remain the most important steps anyone can take. Warning signs of oesophageal cancer include persistent heartburn, chest or throat pain, and unexplained weight loss.
Oxford University researchers have found that regularly drinking tea or coffee at scalding temperatures significantly raises the risk of oesophageal cancer—the cancer that develops in the food pipe. The study, which tracked nearly a million middle-aged men and women, is the largest to establish this link. People who consumed their beverages "very hot" faced roughly three times the cancer risk of those who drank warm versions of the same drinks. The research, published in the International Journal of Cancer, defines "very hot" as 65 degrees Celsius or above.
The mechanism is straightforward: steaming liquid damages the cell lining of the oesophagus as it travels down to the stomach. A kettle at full boil reaches 100 degrees Celsius, and when poured into a cup, the temperature typically settles around 90 to 95 degrees—still well into the danger zone. The study also found that consuming six or more hot drinks daily compounds the risk. Even adding milk provides only marginal cooling; a milky tea or coffee can remain dangerously hot despite the addition.
The solution is simple but requires patience. Cancer Research UK advises waiting until a drink is comfortable to hold and sip before consuming it, though the charity acknowledges it's difficult to specify an exact cooling time. A separate study of 118 young adults found that most people only perceived black coffee as too hot once it reached 70 degrees Celsius or above. Commercial coffee vendors typically serve drinks between 49 and 60 degrees Celsius for takeaway consumption, though some will serve at over 82 degrees if a customer requests extra heat.
The findings echo earlier research from South America, where many people drink mate, a very hot herbal beverage, and where similar links between scalding drinks and oesophageal cancer have already been documented. Lead researcher Dr. Keren Papier noted that further work is needed to pinpoint the exact temperatures at which risk increases, but the pattern is now clear enough to warrant caution.
Yet the overall threat remains modest. Squamous cell oesophageal cancer—the type linked to hot beverages—is rare, affecting only a few thousand people annually in the UK. Roughly one in every hundred people faces a lifetime risk of developing this cancer. The researchers estimate that stopping the consumption of very hot drinks could prevent one or two cases in every ten oesophageal cancers, a meaningful reduction but not a dramatic one. Smoking and alcohol consumption remain far more significant risk factors for this disease. Fiona Osgun from Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, emphasized that not smoking and limiting alcohol are the most important protective measures. Symptoms of oesophageal cancer include persistent heartburn, indigestion, throat or chest pain, and unexplained weight loss.
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More research is now needed to identify the exact drink temperatures linked to this increased risk.— Dr. Keren Papier, lead researcher
The most important ways to reduce the risk of this cancer type are not smoking and cutting down on alcohol.— Fiona Osgun, Cancer Research UK
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