How hot should a hot drink be? And is it time to dilute your herbal tea with some cold water?
To be clear about something: hot drinks are great. They break the working day into manageable chunks, give friends something to bond over that isn’t booze, and provide a tiny form of kindness that almost anyone can offer to anyone else. When James “The Scrounger” Garner suggests having a cup of tea to Donald “The Forger” Pleasance in The Great Escape, he isn’t just hankering for some super-heated tannins – he is offering a hand across the transatlantic cultural divide, and telling him that everything is going to be OK. Putting the kettle on is probably good for you in a lot of little ways. And we haven’t even mentioned how coffee and tea can boost your gut microbiome.
At the same time, it is possible to drink your hot drinks too hot: a recent US study notes that many takeaway outlets serve their coffee close to boiling (93C), while the rising popularity of herbal teas mean more people are leaving out the milk. And – aside from the chances of spilling it on yourself – there might be serious consequences to not letting your brew cool down a bit.
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