Unregulated Herbal Coffee Triggers Severe Hepatitis in Young Man; Liver Specialist Flags Serious Health Risks

Coffee is said to be one of the best beverages for your health. According to experts, it enhances the functioning of your liver and protects it from various diseases. However, it did quite the opposite of that. Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, also known as the Liver Doc on social media, recently shared a shocking case of a young man who developed severe hepatitis after consuming an unregulated herbal coffee. The doctor said the man reached the hospital with yellow eyes and dark urine, which he had had for two weeks. “Two doctors had already been consulted, but they were baffled. No root cause was found,” Dr Cyriac wrote on X (formerly Twitter). According to the Liver Doc, investigations showed he was suffering from severe hepatitis, and other

common causes came back negative. “Viruses, liver-toxic prescription drugs, herbal supplements, autoimmune disease, none of it was positive. We did so many scans and tests, yet the jaundice kept increasing. Again, viruses, autoimmune markers, negative. Drugs, toxins, supplements,” he wrote. However, a breakthrough was achieved when he was probed on dietary changes. “As a last-ditch attempt, we asked if he had changed anything in his diet. He thought for a while and said he had started drinking coffee a few weeks back,” Dr Philips explained.

This was herbal coffee. Not tea. Use of Chinese herbal teas is uncommon in India. It's mostly Ayurveda related herbal liver injuries that we come across here. Even after multiple questioning on use of herbal supplements, the patient was not forthcoming because he still believed…

— TheLiverDoc™ (@theliverdoc) December 29, 2025

How was coffee the culprit?

According to Dr Philips, his entire team were taken aback when they heard that the patient was drinking coffee. “We were okay with that. Coffee is good for the liver. It wouldn’t cause jaundice,” he wrote. However, the patient revealed it was Chinese herbal coffee, not the regular one, which he had been consuming after being recommended by his roommate. Jasmine black coffee is an instant herbal powder drink, which caused symptoms in the man like Yellow eyes, dark urine, and severe itching of hands and feet.

Is Chinese coffee toxic?

According to experts, Jasmine Chinese herbal coffees can be extremely dangerous for your liver, with specific cases of severe liver injury and hepatitis reported after consumption. The danger often stems from the inclusion of unregulated or misidentified toxic herbs, not the coffee itself.

Toxic ingredients

Various products, which are marketed as "herbal coffee" or "herbal tea," are often unregulated, meaning consumers have no guaranteed way of knowing the exact type of plant or plant part included in the product.

Contamination

According to doctors, the quality of some of the herbal products can be poor due to contamination. And so, the use of incorrect plant species, or adulteration with synthetic drugs, increases the risk of liver injury.

How to protect yourself?

Apart from avoiding unregulated products like herbal teas and coffees – most of which are not clear or true about the ingredients they use – experts say you need to be sceptical of these exotic herbal drinks. Most of these are marketed with health benefits that are neither tested nor medically validated. Natural does not always equal safe. Dr Philips advised caution: “Stay away from these advertised and promoted ‘exotic herbal drinks'. None of them are tested for the health benefits they claim, nor for the safety we assume they have.”