Tea, scientifically known as Camellia sinensis, is a perennial plant that stays green throughout the year. The earliest recorded use of this plant for making infusions in China dates back to the 3rd century CE. By the early 17th century, it had been introduced to Europe, quickly gaining popularity and spreading its trade across the continent. Renowned for its aromatic fragrance, delightful taste, and appealing characteristics, tea infusion is among the most consumed beverages worldwide, often called "the queen of beverages." Its global daily consumption ranges between 18 and 20 billion cups [1]. This perennial shrub is prevalent globally, with cultivation extending to countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Vietnam [2], [3], [4]. Tea is categorized based on the techniques used in its processing. Its various types include yellow, white, black, oolong, and dark green tea. These types are differentiated by factors like the degree of fermentation, color, and infusion properties [5]. People consume tea differently from other food items like rice, wheat, maize, vegetables, and eggs. Unlike these items, tea is primarily ingested through infusion rather than directly consuming its leaves or flowers. Therefore, it's crucial to prioritize monitoring contaminants in tea infusions and researching their potential health risks for humans.

Tea leaves contain various bioactive substances like flavonoids, polyphenols, methylxanthines, vitamins, and trace elements. Depending on their concentration, trace elements can either be essential for human nutrition or potentially harmful [6], [7]. Tea plants absorb trace elements from their acidic growing environment, mainly from soil and water. The main sources of heavy metals found in tea products are soil, water, fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural practices. Contact with processing equipment may also pose a risk of contamination [8], [9]. Industrial pollution can also result in the buildup of trace elements in tea. Heavy metals transported through air and dust may dissolve in the soil, where they can be absorbed by tea plants through their roots, or they can directly contaminate tea leaves through atmospheric deposition [10], [11]. During the brewing process of teas, a variety of elements are leached into the infusions at varying rates, transforming the resulting beverage into a reliable dietary reservoir of essential major, minor, and trace elements. Because of chronic tea consumption, these elements are believed to have specific implications for consumers' health. Regular tea intake can significantly fulfill recommended daily allowances (RDAs) of essential elements crucial for nutrition (such as Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, and Zn). However, it's unfortunate that tea infusions can also contain high levels of toxic elements like Al (non-essential element), Cd, and Pb (heavy elements), which pose a risk of poisoning, particularly considering their tendency to accumulate in the human body over time [12]. When the essential element for nutritional requirement and toxic elements in food items surpassed the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), become problematic due to their negative impact on human health. Individuals who excessively consume tea infusions contaminated with these elements may suffer from poisoning, leading to various adverse effects such as damage to the immune and reproductive systems, methemoglobinemia, liver cirrhosis, and impaired production of red blood cells [13], [14], [15].

In developing countries, overseeing the presence of potentially toxic element (PTEs: Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Al, Cd, and Pb), if surpassed the limit set by WHO and EFSA in food represents a significant challenge to public health. Still, only a few research papers exist that take a comprehensive approach, evaluating the associated health risks of consuming tea infusions. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Pakistan to interpret source identification for PTEs contamination and health risks by ingesting certain types of tea infusions. These assessments are essential for monitoring and ensuring the safety of food products, which is one of the biggest challenges to public health caused by PTEs contaminants. Hence, it is essential to measure the levels of PHEs in tea infusions. Understanding the origin and dispersion of PHEs in tea infusion becomes particularly important when employing robust statistical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC). This study aims to provide insights into infusion quality and contamination levels [16], [17]. Therefore, the objectives of this research include: (i) evaluating the levels of PTEs in both tea leaves and infusions; (ii) determining the daily intake (DI) of these elements; (iii) applying risk assessment models recommended by authoritative bodies like the European Union (EU), World Health Organization (WHO), and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to evaluate potential health hazards, including the assessment of target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), carcinogenic risk (CR), and cumulative carcinogenic risk (CCR); and (iv) utilizing multivariate/bivariate statistical analyses (PCA, HCA, and PCC) to comprehend potential sources of contamination.