You probably reach for the kettle without thinking about it. A hot cup of tea is one of those small daily rituals that feels harmless and comforting. For most people it has stayed that way for years.
A nine-year study of nearly 486,000 adults in China found that regular tea drinkers had an 11 percent lower risk of vascular disease. The results were published on October 21, 2026 in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
But people who drank their tea "burning hot" showed a 16 percent higher risk of vascular disease than those who did not regularly drink tea at all. Temperature was the variable that flipped the result.
Participants were followed for a median of nine years, and 14,863 people developed heart disease, stroke, pulmonary heart disease or peripheral artery disease over that time.
Also read: Ten minutes of brain ultrasound eased delusions in a small schizophrenia trial
Why burning hot tea seems to cancel the benefit
People who drank their tea at room temperature or hot but not scalding had the lowest risk of all tea drinkers. Those who sipped it burning hot saw the pattern reverse.
The lead author, Zichen Ye of Peking Union Medical College, told readers to avoid drinking tea at scalding temperatures and to let fresh cups cool before the first sip.
Black tea, moderate strength and how much is enough
Compared with green tea, black tea had the more consistent link to lower risk. Moderate-strength brews showed the lowest risk, while very strong tea offered no extra protection.
Weekly tea drinkers in the study averaged about 2.78 cups a day. The lowest risk sat at around six to eight cups daily. Ye cautioned this should not be read as a recommendation, since cup sizes and brewing styles varied widely across the group.
Also read: One antibiotic pill after sex is linked to steep drops in two of the most common STIs
What the research cannot settle
The study is observational, meaning it can show a link but not that tea itself caused the lower risk. Tea drinkers also differed from non-drinkers in diet, income and lifestyle in ways the researchers could not fully control for.
Dell Stanford, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said this type of study cannot show that a daily cup protects the heart on its own. Overall diet and lifestyle matter more than any single food or drink, she added.
The strongest pattern showed up when tea drinking was combined with not smoking and staying physically active. That combination carried the lowest risk of all.
The one habit the researchers point to is simple. Let a fresh cup cool for a few minutes before the first sip.
Also read: 7 common supplements to avoid if you take warfarin or a blood thinner
Also read: How much should you be able to deadlift? Strength norms by age and sex
This article is made and published by Aksel Kryhlmand, who may have used AI in the preparation.