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.

The world's most popular beverage may do more than just warm you up or wake you up - it could help protect you from lead contamination. New research reveals that the simple act of steeping tea removes a meaningful portion of lead from drinking water,

According to a team of researchers from Northwestern University, tea leaves and bags adsorb lead, trapping lead ions on their surfaces and filtering them from drinking water during the process of tea brewing.

A new study from Northwestern University reveals that tea leaves naturally remove toxic heavy metals from water as they steep. The researchers found that lead and cadmium — dangerous contaminants that can pose serious health risks — cling to the surface of tea leaves, effectively reducing the levels of these metals in the final brew.

Researchers tested black, green, oolong, white, chamomile and rooibos teas — both loose-leaf and commercially bagged.

Researchers tested different types of tea, tea bags and brewing methods and found that finely ground black tea leaves performed best at removing toxic heavy metals. In fact, a cup of black tea brewed for five minutes reduced the concentration of lead ions in water by about 15 per cent.