Many of us are so eager to have our cup of tea that we do not wait for it to brew properly, a University of London study revealed last week.
Researchers found that 40 per cent of tea drinkers do not let the tea infuse for two minutes; the time needed to achieve the best flavour.
Not only will you miss out on the taste but there is also another potential problem with being impatient — you are drinking the liquid when it is still very hot, which, research suggests, could be bad for you.
For example, the heat and steam from your cup of tea or coffee can make blood vessels in the nose expand, says Henry Sharpe, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.
‘This can lead to weakening or rupturing of the vessels, causing nosebleeds.
‘People prone to nosebleeds are particularly vulnerable, so allow your drinks to cool.
If you have had a nosebleed, avoid hot drinks for at least 24 hours as that is how long it takes for blood vessels to settle down, says Mr Sharpe.
And here is what else that warming cuppa might do.
IS IT SAFER TO HAVE MILK IN YOUR TEA?
Drinking steaming hot black tea has been linked with an increased risk of oesophageal cancer.
The disease affects 8,000 people in Britain each year.
In Europe it tends to be associated with smoking, obesity and alcohol, rather than hot drinks.
However, researchers at the University of Tehran have suggested that hot black tea may also be a risk factor.
They studied the tea-drinking habits of 300 people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and compared them with healthy people.
Nearly all of the participants drank black tea regularly; more than a litre a day on average.
People with rosacea may find that it gets worse when they have hot drinks.
The condition, which affects one in ten people, causes chronic facial flushing.
‘Many patients in my practice find the redness gets worse when they drink hot drinks and improves when they replace them with cold drinks,’ says Dr John Ashworth, consultant dermatologist at Bridgewater NHS Trust, Cheshire.
This may be because a rise in body temperature affects the blood vessels around the body which regulate heat, including those in the face, he says.
COULD YOUR TASTEBUDS BE DESTROYED?
Hot drinks can damage the tastebuds.
‘These are very delicate nerve endings around the tongue and they can get damaged like any other cells when exposed to very hot liquid,’ says Mr Cascarini.
Damaging the tastebuds can cause a rough, painful feeling on your tongue but it would take drinking hot drinks repeatedly and scalding the tongue extensively to affect taste sensation permanently.
On the plus side, holding a hot drink could make you seem more friendly.
In 2008, researchers at Yale University found that when people held a warm cup of coffee, they judged others to be more generous and caring.
If they had been holding an iced coffee, however, they took a less positive view towards others.
Another study from Yale found that people who are holding something hot instead of cold (in this case, heated or frozen therapeutic pads) are more likely to give something to others.
They were more likely to take something for themselves if they had been holding something cold.
The researchers believe that the insula (the part of the brain in which judgments about others are formed and also where we process warmth) is affected by an ‘agree- able’ temperature range.
The findings may also be linked to positive associations from cuddling our parents when we were young.