# Will hot tea cool you down on a hot day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041 "2012-07-12T19:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041/1 "2012-07-12T19:28:31Z")
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one reading this [NPR nugget](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/11/156378713/cool-down-with-a-hot-drink-its-not-as-crazy-as-you-think). Unsurprisingly, all of the user comments on NPR call the article “a load of old rubbish”. The internets yield conflicting reports, but I did track down a [scientific study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22574769) (that’s got a bit too much jargon for me to read through). Here’s their conclusion: > [@](#): > > CONCLUSION: > > Under conditions permitting full sweat evaporation, body heat storage is lower with warm water ingestion, likely because of disproportionate modulations in sweat output arising from warm-sensitive thermosensors in the esophagus/stomach. Local temperature changes of the rectum following fluid ingestion exacerbate the previously identified error of thermometric heat storage estimations. Well that certainly doesn’t sound definitive… So what’s the real answer? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041/2 "2012-07-12T19:44:14Z")
Not all the comments called the NPR report rubbish. Re-read fennic’s comment, and also JahJackson. It does appear that NPR’s reasoning was incomplete, but the conclusion was correct. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041/3 "2012-07-12T19:46:57Z")
Speaking from experience, ice water does a better job of cooling me down than a hot drink would. I don’t need a hot drink (as the article suggests) to start sweating on a hot day. Google hit on this little bit of info on the subject. [http://www.sennir.co.uk/Journal/Does\_Tea\_Cool\_You\_Down](http://www.sennir.co.uk/Journal/Does_Tea_Cool_You_Down) ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041/4 "2012-07-13T15:44:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Under conditions permitting full sweat evaporation… How many places is that applicable? Just about anytime you see someone hot, they are covered in sweat (outside of a dessert). That means their sweat is not evaporating effectively. More sweat won’t help them cool off more. This is like saying “ignoring air resistance and gravity, my system works great!” ---
**Author:** ![Sinisterniik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Sinisterniik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinisterniik)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-hot-tea-cool-you-down-on-a-hot-day/628041/5 "2012-07-13T19:40:04Z")
I don’t really listen to NPR for science stories, btw. Not only should I drink hot tea on a hot day, but I should do it in [brutal, stagnant air](http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/07/12/156694483/electric-fans-may-do-more-harm-than-good-in-a-heat-wave).