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Is it safe to drink hot tea from a paper cup? What the IIT Kharagpur study found

Paper cups are lined with plastic. IIT Kharagpur researchers found about 25,000 microplastic particles in 100 ml of hot water left in one for 15 minutes. Here’s what that does and doesn’t tell us.

MUSTHAV team · · 4 min read

Infographic of a steaming paper cup of tea, summarising the IIT Kharagpur study: about 25,000 microplastic particles per 100 ml, and zinc, lead and chromium detected

Most paper cups aren’t just paper. To stop hot tea soaking through, the inside is coated with a thin film of plastic, usually polyethylene.[1]

What the researchers did

A team at IIT Kharagpur led by Dr Sudha Goel poured 100 ml of water at 85–90 °C into disposable paper cups and left it for 15 minutes, about as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea.[1]

The water then held around 25,000 microplastic particles, each 10 to 1,000 micrometres across. The team also found metals such as zinc, lead and chromium, which they linked to the cup lining.[1]

By the researchers’ estimate, someone who drinks three cups of tea or coffee a day from paper cups could swallow around 75,000 microplastic particles, all too small to see.[1]

What the study doesn’t tell us

  • It used ultrapure water, not tea or coffee with milk and sugar.
  • It counted the particles released. It didn’t measure what they do in the body.
  • It doesn’t show that paper cups cause cancer or any other disease, whatever some headlines claimed.

A 2026 fact-check made the same point: the health effects of microplastics released from paper cups are still poorly understood.[2]

So what should you do?

The exposure is clear, while the harm is still unproven, and that’s exactly when sensible caution makes sense. Hot drinks are the case to avoid, because heat speeds up release from the lining.

  • Serve hot drinks in steel, glass or ceramic wherever you can.
  • Don’t treat a paper cup as plastic-free. It’s plastic-lined.
  • Take most care with children, and in places like hospitals and offices where people drink several cups a day.

That’s why GILAS serves every drink in a steel glass and cleans it on the spot, so the reusable glass is as easy to use as a disposable cup.

Sources

  1. [1]Ranjan, V. P., Joseph, A. and Goel, S. (2021), Microplastics and other harmful substances released from disposable paper cups into hot water. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 404, 124118 (IIT Kharagpur). View source (opens in a new tab)
  2. [2]The Week (2026), Fact check: Does drinking tea in paper cups pose health risks? 3 March 2026. View source (opens in a new tab)

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