High surface area of the tea leaves means they can adsorb toxic metals released by the boiling water.
That comforting hot cup of tea—or refreshing glass of iced tea on a hot summer day—could help reduce the amount of toxic metals in drinking water, according to a new paper published in the journal ACS Food & Science Technology. "We're not suggesting that everyone starts using tea leaves as a water filter," said co-author Vinayak Dravid, who studies sorbent materials at Northwestern University. "Our goal was to measure tea's ability to adsorb heavy metals. By quantifying this effect, our work highlights the unrecognized potential for tea consumption to passively contribute to reduced heavy metal exposure in populations…