Regular tea drinking linked to lower cardiovascular disease risk, study finds

A new study has found that regularly drinking tea is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease — but the type of tea and the temperature at which it is consumed make a significant difference. Drinking tea so hot it scalds the mouth was associated with greater health risks, not fewer.

The research came from China, where tea culture is deeply rooted. A joint paper by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College and Peking University was published last month in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Researchers tracked 485,934 Chinese adults over approximately nine years, monitoring the incidence of cardiovascular conditions including heart disease, stroke and blood clots. A total of 14,863 new cases of vascular disease were recorded during the follow-up period.

At the start of the study, participants completed surveys covering the number of cups of tea consumed per day over the previous 12 months, the type of tea they drank and the temperature at which they drank it. Smoking status and physical activity levels were also factored into the analysis.

The results showed that regular tea consumption was broadly associated with a lower risk of vascular disease. Among those who drank tea at least once a week, the group consuming six to eight cups a day showed the lowest estimated risk.

The association varied depending on how tea was consumed. Participants who said they drank their tea "scalding hot" showed a higher risk of vascular disease compared with the control group.

The study also highlighted the role of lifestyle factors alongside tea drinking. People who regularly drank tea, did not smoke and maintained high levels of physical activity showed the lowest vascular disease risk of any group examined.

The researchers cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted as a recommendation to drink six to eight cups of tea a day for cardiovascular disease prevention. Those figures reflect a statistical association observed in the study population and do not represent an optimal intake applicable to everyone. The researchers said tea should be viewed as one component of a lifestyle that may support cardiovascular health.

The hazards of drinking tea at very high temperatures, also confirmed in this study, are not new to science. Multiple previous studies have identified extremely hot beverages as a factor that raises the risk of esophageal cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, defined beverages above 65 degrees Celsius as "very hot" in 2016 and classified drinking beverages at such temperatures as a Group 2A carcinogen — meaning a probable cause of cancer in humans.

Research involving the US National Cancer Institute and other institutions, published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2025, tracked 454,796 British adults over an average of 11.6 years. Those who said they drank tea or coffee at very high temperatures had a greater risk of esophageal cancer than the control group.

Health experts advise letting very hot tea cool below 60 degrees Celsius before drinking rather than consuming it immediately.