Why do some people like to drink their tea REALLY hot?

Yes I know what you mean! People in Britain, perhaps all of Europe, and Middle East in my experience… I could never understand how it was even possible for people to drink water that is practically boiling. I just assumed it was years of living in very cold places and growing up drinking hot beverages like tea all their lives. When I am served hot tea, I have to wait and wait for it to stop steaming and it cools down to “warm”.

@lilikoi I live in Britain, and no matter HOW cold it is outside, there is no way, absolutely no way. If i even try i suffer for days afterwards! haha
plus a few of the people i know who like their tea like this are from the middle east/south east asia, fairly warm places, where tea is, of course, popular. but still, arent they human?! lord..
thanks for your answer

I live in the greatest country in the world located on the greatest continent in the world and I do not like my tea boiling hot. I always let it cool a bit before I drink it.

I like my tea to start out hot. I usually let it cool down quite a bit before I drink it though, where it’s still hot but not so hot that it can burn my mouth. My sister needs her tea to cool down until it’s almost room temperature, which I don’t understand.

Yesterday I put a few quarters on top of a wood stove, just to see if anything would happen to them. A few hours later I picked one up. It was hot, but not that hot. My cousin picked another one up, gave a shout, and dropped it on the floor, (where it burned the carpet,) and asked me how in the hell I could hold something so hot. Maybe that’s the same kind of thing; some people are just less sensitive to heat..

@petethepothead i did consider that fact, the “higher pain threshold”, but even then why would they have a distinct preference for scalding hot tea?
it is just strange. and i too like to let my tea cool a little and drink it HOT, but not immediately when it is absolutely scalding hot, which is what some people i know do and what this question is all about.
Regarding the hot coin thing, you might have asbestos fingers
my dad has those, he can grab hot things right out the microwave with no problem!

I like my tea and coffee very hot. I can’t tell you why, though. It just doesn’t taste right if it cools.

@marinelife yeah thats the sort of response i got from my friends. but what? do you mean you drink it immediately while it is still scalding? does it not burn your tongue?
do you like it if it burns your tongue?
what do you like about it?
i just need clarification on this, it niggles at me.
:)

I like it hot but not scalding. I have a tendency to for get a drink and let it go cold, and sometimes I re-heat it in the microwave, sometimes I don’t bother and just drink it cold.

My mother is like this, if it cools down too much, she may complain. I think that over time she’s gotten used to the heat, but it niggles me too. How can she even stand to hold such a hot cup?!

I like my tea very hot, I can’t bear warm tea, ugh. It doesn’t usually burn me, but if it does, I’ll just sip it in a certain way, which is hard to explain via fluther. However, I’ll make the necessary adjustmends to get the hot tea into my, usually cold body

My dad drinks his coffee scalding.
It’s ridiculous. It’s like you can’t help but wonder if they have nerve damage in their mouths or something.

Tea, coffee, food – they all have to be uber hot as far as I’m concerned. I hate cold things, like ice-cream, brrrr. I don’t mind raw fish.

Because it’s called hot tea.

@bentheonlyexceptiondrew It is not scalding When I drink it, just hot. I have to drink it quickly before it gets too cool.

I just dont understand 0_o I guess its one of those little quirks from person to person that i will never understand. like people dont understand why i like black liquorice

My boyfriend drinks really hot, I don’t know how he does. I let mine cool, only slightly though, I don’t want cold tea.

Everything I eat or drink that is warmed up has to be scalding hot. I don’t know why, but I think I might be addicted to it. I burn my tastebuds regularly and sometimes get blisters on the roof of my mouth. It just doesn’t taste right when it is luke warm. I have to race to eat it all when it’s hot so it won’t cool down. I read an article saying this could be linked to throat and mouth cancer. :-/ All my beverages that are supposed to be “cool” have to be ice cold too. I know it’s bad for digestion but I can’t do it any other way. It’s crazy.