Many singers, actors, and voice users alike reach for the Throat Coat tea when their voice is feeling scratchy or unreliable. So what’s the deal? Does tea have magic powers that fix your voice? Let’s spill the tea and break some myths.
Diving right in, drinking tea is NOT going to magically make you sound better, mainly because it doesn’t come into direct contact with your vocal folds. However, tea is delicious and can be very soothing to your mouth and throat (pharynx not larynx) and overall have a calming effect.
It is a super common misconception that the voice is vaguely located in the throat and anything you consume will come into direct contact with the voice box. That’s just not how it works. It’s important to understand that nothing you eat or drink should touch your vocal folds. Otherwise, you’d be choking. Your vocal folds are located in the larynx at the top of the trachea, where the air travels. Not in the back of the mouth or the esophagus, where the food and drink travels. So, drinking tea is not going to directly help your voice or fix troubled vocal folds. However, it does have some other nice benefits!
- Calming effect
- Warms/soothes the mouth and throat
- Most teas are rich in antioxidants
- Some teas have anti-inflammatory properties
- Breathing in steam is soothing to the voice
A few more tidbits: Manuka honey tastes awesome in tea and has antibacterial properties that are said to reduce inflammation. Adding lemon is also delicious and gives you a boost of vitamin C, but if you struggle with acid reflux, you should steer clear of the lemon. Go for the herbal, caffeine-free, or low caffeine options. Caffeine isn’t inherently bad, but it can have a drying effect on the mouth and is considered to be a mild diuretic. Whatever your relationship with caffeine may be, you need to stay hydrated to keep it all balanced.
So, if you like it, go on and drink that tea, honey! Just understand that staying hydrated with plenty of water and taking care of your voice in a holistic way (resting, warming up, conditioning, and considering lifestyle and talking habits) will be much more beneficial to your overall vocal health.
References:
Zhang Z. (2016). Mechanics of human voice production and control. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140(4), 2614. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4964509
Deeter, A., & van Mersbergen, M. (January/February 2014). Busting the Myth: The Real Scoop on Tea. Journal of Singing, Volume 70, No. 3, 309–319.
Girma, A., Seo, W., & She, R. C. (2019). Antibacterial activity of varying UMF-graded Manuka honeys. PloS one, 14(10), e0224495. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224495
Erickson-Levendoski E, Sivasankar M. Investigating the effects of caffeine on phonation. J Voice. 2011 Sep;25(5):e215-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2011.02.009. Epub 2011 Jun 25. PMID: 21704493.
Health disclaimer: I’m sharing this information because it has been helpful for me personally as a singer and coach. I’m not qualified to give medical advice and always recommend consulting your doctor or ENT if you have any medical concerns or questions.