Drinking very hot beverages “probably” causes cancer of the oesophagus, the UN’s cancer agency said, while lifting suspicion from coffee and the herbal drink mate if consumed at “normal serving temperatures”.

“These results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of oesophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible,” said Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).