A steaming cup of coffee on waking, a gulp swallowed too quickly before rushing off to work: this everyday gesture, almost banal, is among the most universal rituals there is. Hard to imagine that it could raise medical questions. Yet a large‑scale British study is revisiting what heat, not the coffee itself, might do to the lining of the esophagus. The results deserve precise explanation, without excessive sensationalism, but not without nuance either. For behind this morning ritual lies a scientific question that researchers have been trying to shed light on for several years.
- An Oxford study conducted on nearly 980,000 adults shows that the risk of esophageal cancer (SCC) is almost doubled with hot drinks and tripled with very hot drinks compared with lukewarm beverages.
- It is the temperature of the drink that matters, not the coffee or tea themselves, due to repeated micro-injuries to the esophageal lining.
- The CIRC already classifies beverages above 65 degrees Celsius as probably carcinogenic, and it is advised to let the drink cool for a few minutes before drinking.
- What the British study reveals about very hot beverages
- Temperature is to blame, not the coffee itself
- What IARC says already and the limitations of this new study
- Towards new habits in the face of an open question
What the British study reveals about very hot beverages
The study in question was conducted by Oxford Population Health, affiliated with the University of Oxford, and funded by Cancer Research UK. It was led by Dr. Keren Papier and published on September 9, 2026. Its scale is striking: nearly one million British adults, about 980,000 people, were followed over more than ten years using two large databases, the UK Biobank and the Million Women Study. The aim was to observe the development of a specific cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, often referred to by its English acronym SCC. Participants had previously indicated the temperature at which they habitually consumed their hot drinks, categorized into three levels: lukewarm, hot, and very hot. The results are clear: compared with lukewarm beverages, the risk of developing this cancer was almost doubled among people who drank hot drinks, and tripled among those who consumed very hot drinks. A difference sufficiently pronounced to draw researchers’ attention and to restart the debate about our morning habits.
Temperature is the culprit, not the coffee itself
That is probably the most important takeaway to remember, and the one that deserves clarification above all: it isn’t the coffee, nor even the tea, that is being singled out in this study. The identified risk is tied to the temperature of the drink at the moment it is consumed, regardless of its content. In other words, a scalding tea potentially poses the same question as a scorching hot coffee. The mechanism proposed by the researchers is fairly intuitive once explained: excessive heat would damage the inner lining of the esophagus, somewhat like a mild burn but repeated day after day. These micro-lesions, accumulated over time, could eventually promote the development of abnormal, then cancerous, cells. So it is not a single scorching cup that is problematic, but rather the repetition of the act, morning after morning, for years. An essential nuance, which shifts the focus from what’s in the cup to how hot it is in terms of heat.
What IARC says already and the limitations of this new study
This question is not entirely new. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the IARC, has for several years already classified beverages consumed above 65 degrees Celsius as probably carcinogenic. A threshold that may seem high, and indeed higher than typical British habits. In France, where espresso is often consumed almost immediately after preparation, the question deserves just as much attention. However, one should keep in mind the limitations of this new study: the exact temperature of beverages was not scientifically measured, but self-reported by participants according to their own perception. Moreover, it is an observational study: it establishes a statistical association between two phenomena, without proving a direct and isolated cause-and-effect link. It does not, in its current form, allow defining a universal cooling time or a single temperature threshold that would apply to everyone in the same way.
Toward new habits in the face of an open question
These results should be interpreted with caution without dismissing them. Esophageal cancer of the SCC type remains rare in the United Kingdom, with a lifetime risk of about 1%. It is therefore not a silent epidemic, but rather an additional risk factor to consider among others. In this context, adopting a simple habit seems reasonable: let your drink cool for a few minutes before drinking, giving it time to go from burning hot to simply hot. A small adjustment, almost trivial, that costs nothing and could limit the repeated exposure of the esophagus to extreme temperatures. On the research side, work continues actively: the Cancer Grand Challenges PROMINENT program, partly funded by Cancer Research UK, is specifically aiming to better understand this mechanism and to refine, in the long term, the exact temperature threshold at which the risk becomes meaningful.
Until more precise results emerge, waiting a moment before bringing the cup to your lips seems a sensible reflex, easy to adopt without disrupting daily life. The morning coffee hasn’t lost any of its charm; it just needs a moment to cool slightly.
