Key Takeaways
A balance of water, coffee, and tea is linked to a longer life. Research suggests that drinking around 7–8 total cups per day—and swapping some water for coffee or tea once you’re above 4 cups—may reduce overall mortality risk.It’s the combination that matters. Hydration from water plus polyphenols in coffee and tea work together to support metabolic, vascular, and inflammatory health more effectively than any one beverage alone.Variety > volume. Rotating these drinks throughout the day delivers complementary nutrients and helps avoid excess sugar or caffeine—making your daily beverage routine a meaningful part of long-term health.
For most of us, no day would be complete without a rotation of our favorite beverages: water to start, then that first cup of coffee, and maybe a juice or smoothie to round out the day. But according to new research from the British Journal of Nutrition and data from the UK Biobank, there’s a specific selection of beverages that can make a difference not just in your day-to-day life, but also how long you live. Plain water, coffee, and tea can actually curb the likelihood of all-cause and cause-specific mortality—here’s why.
The Link Between Water, Coffee, Tea, and Longevity
“Using compositional methods, the authors found the lowest mortality at roughly 7–8 total drinks per day and, once people were above about 4 drinks per day, substituting some plain water with coffee and tea was linked to lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality,” explains longevity dietitian Ella Davar, RD. “The most favorable pattern was a balanced mix of coffee and tea within that total.” Essentially, in addition to keeping you sufficiently hydrated, the effects of drinking coffee and tea throughout the day can actually do you some good.
The study notes that previous research on the topic typically focused on the health benefits of coffee and tea individually, rather than their combined benefits. Balanced consumption of coffee and tea was also associated with a decreased risk of chronic, cardiovascular, respiratory, and digestive disease. “Hydration is the base layer, and layering in polyphenol-rich coffee and tea appears to compound the benefit beyond water alone,” Davar says. “Mechanistically, hydration supports perfusion and metabolic homeostasis, while coffee and tea polyphenols like chlorogenic acids [and] catechins offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and may improve vascular and metabolic markers.”
Another facet that sets this research apart from previous studies is its emphasis on variety—it matters less how much you’re consuming, but rather what you’re drinking. “Variety matters slightly more than volume,” Davar says. “Different beverages deliver complementary bioactives, like in coffee (chlorogenic acids), tea (catechins/flavonols), [and] water (hydration) without additives, and rotating them avoids excess sugar or ultra-hot intake while distributing caffeine over the day for better cardiorespiratory and glycemic stability.” So the next time you’re focused on drinking a gallon of water per day, take a beat and add some coffee and tea to the mix.
“Start the day with plain water, especially around exercise and in between meals,” Davar suggests. “Enjoy one to two cups of coffee (or decaf) earlier in the day, and two to three cups of green or black tea later—unsweetened or lightly sweetened.”