Guard against Esophageal Cancer, Mind Tea & Coffee Temps

There is nothing like a newly brewed pot of herbal tea.  My favorite way to brew tea is using bulk tea in a brew basket. That way, I can blend tea from the garden with other teas I might come across in shopping with ease. The temperature of the water during brewing, makes a huge difference with the flavor of the tea.  You can make the best cup of tea if you know the best brewing temperature for the leaves you are using. I found on this site the following:

As a general guideline, green teas taste best when brewed at temperatures between 140°F – 185°F. The grade of the tea and the time of its harvest will also influence the appropriate steeping temperature. Green teas picked earlier in the spring will benefit from lower temperature brewing due to their overall higher levels of amino acids.

Here’s an example of how one might adjust the temperature for brewing Japanese green teas. Gyokuro, one of the highest grades, is best brewed at 122°F – 140°F (50°C – 60°C). Spring-picked Sencha tastes best at 160°F – 170°F (70°C – 80°C). Summer-harvested Bancha and Genmaicha will exhibit their best flavor with a short infusion at higher temperatures of 170°F – 185°F (80°C – 90°C).

According to this article from ABC news, people who frequently had very hot tea, at 158 degrees Fahrenheit or above, had an eight-fold increased risk of esophageal cancer. What does 158 degrees feel like? That was the first question on my mind when I heard this topic discussed on NPR a few weeks ago.  It’s pretty hot to the touch on your fingers.  Your fingers are of tougher skin than your throat, I would imagine. Much like an ice cream headache, I can think back to days that I’ve sipped my tea way too hot and it burns all the way down to my tummy. That’s not good for the body and mine was telling me so.

In this medical journal article, they note the highest percentage of cancer patients with this Esophageal kind of cancer are from Caspian Littoral of Iran.  It seems that it is custom to drink tea several times a day at severely hot temperatures.  Tests have been conducted within this group to measure the temperatures of the tea they drink. From this study, they have confirmed data correlating the temperature of tea to the number of cases of esophageal cancer.

In this age where coffee and tea help us get through our days, be sure to keep this tip in the back of your mind.  Would you consider waiting to sip your newly poured coffee or tea? Would you give it a few minutes to cool down after hearing this tidbit of info?  It gives me pause without a doubt.

Happy Washing!

~Regina