A study of more than 50,000 people in Iran showed that people who drank 700 ml (about 2 to 3 cups) of black tea at 60°C or higher each day were almost twice as likely to develop esophageal cancer over the next 10 years compared to those who drank tea at lower temperatures. The study investigated the most common type of esophageal cancer in Iran, squamous cell carcinoma, which usually occurs in the upper and middle segments of the esophagus. So to avoid repeated burns to your mouth and throat from various hot beverages, it’s wise to cool your drinks before consuming them. The researchers considered the following potential confounding factors: age and gender, wealth, geographic location, race, education, fresh fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The conclusion: people who drank tea at 60°C or higher were 41 percent more likely to develop esophageal cancer than those who drank tea at lower temperatures; those who said they liked “very hot” tea were more than twice as likely to develop esophageal cancer as those who said they drank “cold/warm” Those who say they like “very hot” tea are more than twice as likely to get cancer as those who say they drink “cold/warm” tea; those who wait less than 2 minutes for tea are 51% more likely to get cancer than those who wait 6 minutes or more. Combining the temperature of the tea and the number of people who drank tea daily, drinking 700 ml or more of tea daily at 60°C or higher increased the risk of cancer by 95 percent. Because there are no known health benefits to drinking very hot beverages, it is recommended that hot beverages wait until they have cooled down before drinking them. Finally, it should also be noted that even though drinking hot tea may increase the risk, the absolute risk increase will increase from less than 1% to 1.2%, which is probably still much less than the risk associated with more established risk factors such as alcohol, smoking, diet and obesity, so reducing cancer starts with good diet and lifestyle habits.