Researchers looked at nearly half a million people in the UK to see if drinking hot drinks like tea and coffee is linked to oesophageal cancer. They found that people who regularly drank their beverages very hot—especially more than 4 cups a day—had a higher chance of developing a type of oesophageal cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The hotter and more frequent the drinks, the greater the risk. However, they didn’t find the same link for another type called adenocarcinoma (EAC).
In a nutshell: drinking very hot tea or coffee often might increase your risk of one kind of throat cancer. So letting your cuppa cool a bit could be a smart move!
Inoue-Choi, M., Ramirez, Y., O’Connell, C. et al. Hot beverage intake and oesophageal cancer in the UK Biobank: prospective cohort study. Br J Cancer 132, 652–659 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-025-02953-2