Do very hot tea or coffee raise the risk of esophageal cancer?

Claim 1: Your risk of developing oesophageal cancer is increased if you drink tea, coffee or other drinks at hot temperatures.

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Fact-check: The claim that oesophageal cancer risk increases if you drink hot tea, coffee or other drinks lacks context. Let’s take a closer look at the study on which the Express’ article is based to get a better understanding of the links between coffee or tea consumption and cancer. 

What the new UK study actually found

According to a large UK Biobank analysis, 454,796 adults were followed for about 12 years and reported both how many cups of tea/coffee they drank and whether they preferred them warm, hot or very hot. The researchers in this study observed that, compared with people who drank warm drinks, choosing hot beverages was linked to a higher risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) as daily cups increased. The association was stronger for very hot drinks: for example, ≤4 cups/day was linked to roughly 2.5×higher ESCC risk, and >8 cups/day to around 5.6× higher risk.

Importantly, the same study found no clear association between drink temperature and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), which is a different type of oesophageal cancer. 

Absolute numbers of cancer cases remained small (242 ESCC cases and 710 EAC cases), so the individual risk is low in the UK setting according to the analysis. The results were adjusted for factors such as age, sex, smoking and alcohol, but as an observational study they cannot prove that hot drinks cause cancer. This is mainly because the data gathered in this study was self-reported data, such as the temperature of the drinks when consumed, although follow-up checks suggested the results were fairly reliable.

Overall, the pattern suggests a dose–temperature relationship for ESCC that fits with prior evidence from high-risk settings where measured very-hot tea has been linked to higher ESCC risk.

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Is it the drink or the temperature?

Evidence points to temperature, not the drink itself, as the main concern: the WHO’s cancer agency (IARC) classifies very hot beverages (typically >65 °C) as “probably carcinogenic to humans” based on studies of thermal injury and ESCC.
In the Golestan study in Iran, investigators measured tea temperature and found higher future ESCC risk among people who drank very hot tea compared with cooler tea, reinforcing that heat, not tea, drives risk. 

The new UK Biobank results fit this picture, showing higher ESCC risk with increasing temperature preference and number of daily cups, while finding no clear link with EAC. 

Animal experiments add biological plausibility: repeated exposure to 70 °C water promoted esophageal cancer risk in mice compared with a chemical carcinogen alone (a substance known to cause cancer in laboratory settings), according to this study. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also notes that coffee itself is not classified as carcinogenic at usual drinking temperatures, which aligns with the wider literature on coffee’s health profile (The Lancet, BMJ).

Practically, simple changes (letting drinks cool, adding a splash of milk or water, and avoiding gulping many scalding cups) are sensible ways to reduce any thermal-injury risk while keeping the everyday benefits of tea and coffee.

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Coffee and tea and overall health

It’s vital that research findings are shared with the public, but without the right context they can easily create a distorted sense of risk, especially for people without a science background. In the case of coffee and tea, the story is not only about possible risks from very hot drinks, but also about the well-documented health benefits these beverages can offer when enjoyed in moderation.

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Coffee and tea can both sit comfortably in a healthy, everyday diet. According to a large umbrella review in the BMJ, people who drink about three to four cups of coffee a day tend to have lower risks of early death and cardiovascular disease compared with non-drinkers. A separate meta-analysis (a meta-analysis is when scientists combine the results of many separate studies on the same topic to get a clearer overall picture of what the evidence shows) suggests both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee are linked with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, pointing to components beyond caffeine that may be helpful. For tea, scientists analysing the UK Biobank reported that those drinking two or more cups of black tea daily had a modestly lower risk of death from any cause.

How you brew coffee also matters for cholesterol. Randomised controlled trials (source 1, source 2) show that unfiltered coffee (such as boiled coffee or cafetière/French press) contains natural oils (cafestol and kahweol) that can raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Using a paper filter largely removes these oils, so if your LDL is high, scientists recommend opting for paper-filtered coffee as a simple, evidence-based tweak.

On caffeine, European safety assessors conclude that up to 400 mg per day is a safe level for most healthy, non-pregnant adults (roughly four to five small coffees, or six to eight teas, depending on strength), while around 200 mg per day is the advised upper limit during pregnancy. Sensitivity varies: if caffeine makes you jittery or affects your sleep, cutting back or choosing decaf is sensible.

What about hydration? Despite the old myth, research does not support the idea that tea and coffee “dehydrate” you at typical intakes. In the randomised cross-over study, habitual coffee drinkers who consumed several cups of coffee per day showed no differences from water in total body water, urine volume or blood markers of hydration. Reflecting this evidence, European guidance counts all beverages, including caffeinated ones, towards your daily fluid intake targets. In practice, that means your cups of tea or coffee can help meet your fluid needs.

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Final take-away

Two practical tips tie this together. First, the temperature matters for oesophageal comfort and safety: let hot drinks cool a little or add a splash of milk or water before sipping. Second, enjoy coffee and tea mostly unsweetened; keeping added sugars low supports cardiometabolic health. With these simple steps, coffee and tea can be enjoyable, hydrating parts of a balanced diet.

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We have contacted Express and are awaiting a response.

Disclaimer

This fact-check is intended to provide information based on available scientific evidence. It should not be considered as medical advice. For personalised health guidance, consult with a qualified healthcare professional.