Pick how you drink yerba mate — brewed like tea, a gourd you keep refilling, or a can — and the coffee you would drink instead. You see the caffeine in each on one scale, mate as the spread the lab studies measured rather than one guessed number, and what so many a day comes to beside the FDA’s 400 mg.
Caffeine, mate against coffee
About as much caffeine as 8 fl oz of brewed coffee 5 g of yerba mate brewed once: 40–110 mg · 8 fl oz of brewed coffee: 95 mg
Across the five products the two lab studies measured, 5 g of yerba mate brewed once puts 40–110 mg of caffeine in the cup; USDA puts 8 fl oz of brewed coffee at 95 mg.
1 a day: mate 40–110 mg, coffee 95 mg. The FDA cites 400 mg a day for most adults: the mate stays under it, the coffee stays under it.
What was measured
- Najman et al. 2024 (3 Paraguayan products, 5 g in 100 mL for 10 minutes at 70 °C and 100 °C): 13.51 to 22.02 mg of caffeine per gram reached the cup, average 17.79 — 68–110 mg from 5 g.
- Zaki et al. 2026 (2 brands, 7.5 g in 500 mL at 90 °C for 15 minutes): 7.96 and 8.36 mg per gram — 40–42 mg from 5 g.
- Brew the same leaves a second time (Najman): 5.86 to 20.5 mg per gram more — 29–103 mg.
Najman’s figures are per gram of dry matter; the leaves as sold measured 5.05 to 5.86% moisture, so a gram from the bag holds slightly less.
The review’s own summary: “The caffeine content in a cup (about 150 mL) of Yerba Mate tea is comparable to that in a cup of coffee and is about 80 mg”. Its Table 1 (Kruszewski et al., 3.5 g in 100 mL, 15 to 60 minutes) measured 11.8 to 25.8 mg per 100 mL — 18–39 mg in a 150 mL cup. How much leaf goes in is what moves the number.
This is not medical advice. The FDA’s 400 mg a day is a line for healthy adults, not a target; in pregnancy, with a heart condition, or with blood thinners, antidepressants or blood-pressure medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist about caffeine.
Brewed like tea, 5 g of yerba mate puts about 40 to 110 mg of caffeine in the cup across the five products two lab studies measured; USDA puts 8 fl oz of brewed coffee at 95 mg. A Yerba Madre can prints 150 mg. A gourd you keep refilling is another matter: the first four cold refills measured 313 mg.
How to use it
Pick how you drink mate. “Brewed like tea” takes the grams of leaf (a tea bag’s box prints them); “Gourd” takes how many refills you drink, up to the four the published table measured back to back; “Can” uses the maker’s own label. Pick the coffee you would drink instead, and how many a day. Mate is drawn as a band — the lowest to the highest product measured — because no source measured one “typical” mate, and this page does not invent one.
What was measured
USDA’s FoodData Central has no yerba mate, so these are published measurements. Brewed like tea: Najman and colleagues (2024) bought “three market Yerba Mate products (from Paraguay)”, and “5.0 g of dry samples were weighed into 100 mL glass beakers, poured over with 100 mL of distilled water at 70 °C and 100 °C, brewed for 10 min under cover, and then filtered (single brewing)”. Their result: “The caffeine content in the infusions obtained as a result of single brewing ranged from 13.51 ± 0.02 mg/g d.m. up to 22.02 ± 0.95 mg/g d.m. (average 17.79 ± 3.49 mg/g d.m.)”. Zaki and colleagues (2026) brewed two brands sold in Lebanon more weakly — “7.5 g of dried leaves were weighed on a calibrated laboratory scale and added to 500 mL of recently boiled water.” and “The mixture was then left to brew undisturbed for 15 min” — and measured 7.96 and 8.36 mg per gram, “corresponding to ∼59.7 mg and 62.7 mg per 500 mL infusion, respectively”.
| Yerba | Lowest to highest product | Najman’s three (average) | Zaki’s two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 g | 16–44 mg | 27–44 mg (36) | 16–17 mg |
| 3 g | 24–66 mg | 41–66 mg (53) | 24–25 mg |
| 5 g | 40–110 mg | 68–110 mg (89) | 40–42 mg |
| 7.5 g | 60–165 mg | 101–165 mg (133) | 60–63 mg |
| 10 g | 80–220 mg | 135–220 mg (178) | 80–84 mg |
The same leaves give more the second time: “The average content of this alkaloid in twice-brewed samples was 14.28 ± 5.80 mg/g d.m.”, from “YM-B-2-100 infusion (5.86 ± 0.01 mg/g d.w.), while the highest in YM-A-2-70 (20.50 ± 0.16 mg/g d.w.)” — in Najman’s words, “double brewing resulted in a reduction in the caffeine content by approx. 19.7% compared to single-brewed Yerba Mate infusions”. Hotter is not stronger: “the concentration of caffeine in infusions prepared at a higher temperature (100 °C) is significantly lower compared to infusions obtained at 70 °C”. Najman’s figures are per gram of dry matter; the leaves as sold measured 5.05 to 5.86% moisture.
A gourd, refilled
The traditional way packs a gourd with leaf and pours water over it again and again. A 2021 review (Gawron-Gzella and colleagues) prints Meinhart and colleagues’ measurements refill by refill, in mg of caffeine per 100 mL: hot — “chimarrao: 85 g of Yerba Mates (smooth, traditional, native, course-ground) brewed with 150 mL water at 75 °C for 30 s” — as a range across the four kinds of yerba, and cold — “terere: 50 g of Yerba Mate extracted with 180 mL of cold water (11 °C) for 30 s” — as one figure. The table prints the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th refill, then the 10th, 18th and 30th, so this page adds up the first four and nothing in between.
| Refill | Hot gourd, 150 mL (lowest–highest yerba) | Cold gourd, 180 mL |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 21–40 mg | 64 mg |
| 2nd | 10–29 mg | 102 mg |
| 3rd | 3–20 mg | 87 mg |
| 4th | 2–17 mg | 60 mg |
| All four | 36–106 mg | 313 mg |
The review’s reading of the same data: “The amount of caffeine consumed in 100 mL of the cold-prepared drink (terere) was found to be about 2.5 times higher than that of the hot water-brewed chimarrao drink.” And of a whole session: “the typical method of consuming this drink of repeatedly pouring extra water into the “mate” can result in an intake of more than 260 mg of caffeine per serving”.
Cans, and what the maker does not print
Yerba Madre’s own product pages (the store at guayaki.com, read 2026-10-06) print “150mg caffeine” on every can that gives a figure and “115mg caffeine” on every sparkling can. Its bottles say only “about as much caffeine as a shot of espresso”; its tea bags and loose leaf print no figure at all — which is why the brewed numbers above come from lab studies. A can’s figure is a label, not a lab measurement, and other brands print their own.
Why one “mate has X mg” number is wrong
The same review that prints the table also sums mate up in one line: “The caffeine content in a cup (about 150 mL) of Yerba Mate tea is comparable to that in a cup of coffee and is about 80 mg”. Its own Table 1 measured 11.8 to 25.8 mg per 100 mL at tea strength (3.5 g in 100 mL, Kruszewski and colleagues) — 18 to 39 mg in that 150 mL cup — while Najman’s strong 5 g in 100 mL gave 68 to 110 mg. The review says why: “the amount of alkaloids in beverages is variable and depends on the type of raw materials used and how the brew is prepared”. The leaf itself is “caffeine (1–2% of dry weight)”; how much of it you put in, and how often you pour, decides the cup. And boiling water does not help: “Brewing with boiling water was very inefficient and, regardless of the time, the drink had two times lower caffeine concentration”.
Worked examples
- 5 g brewed like tea against 8 fl oz of brewed coffee (the page’s example): 40–110 mg against 95 mg — about as much, because coffee’s figure sits inside mate’s band.
- A 3 g tea bag against the same coffee: 24–66 mg — less caffeine than the coffee, on every product measured.
- A can against a 16 fl oz brewed coffee: 150 mg against 189 mg — less.
- Four cold refills against 8 fl oz of brewed coffee: 313 mg against 95 mg — more, and two such sessions a day (625 mg) pass the FDA’s 400 mg.
Common mistakes
- Quoting one number for “yerba mate”. A 3 g tea bag and a refilled gourd are different drinks; the studies above differ more than tenfold from the weakest cup to four cold refills.
- Counting a gourd as one cup. Each refill adds caffeine, and the 10th refill still measured some.
- Using boiling water to make it stronger. Both the review and Najman’s study measured less caffeine at 100 °C than at 70 °C.
- Reading a can’s label as the leaf’s number. The maker prints 150 mg on its cans and nothing on its loose leaf.
- Forgetting the rest of the day. The FDA: “For most adults, the FDA has cited 400 milligrams a day — that’s about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee — as an amount not generally associated with negative effects.” The Caffeine Content Chart adds up a whole day.
Frequently asked questions
How much caffeine is in yerba mate?
It depends on the grams of leaf and how you brew. Two lab studies measured 7.96 to 22.02 mg of caffeine reaching the cup per gram of yerba brewed once — 24 to 66 mg from a 3 g tea bag, 40 to 110 mg from 5 g. A Yerba Madre can prints 150 mg.
Does yerba mate have more caffeine than coffee?
A tea-strength cup has less or about the same: USDA puts 8 fl oz of brewed coffee at 95 mg, and 5 g of mate measured 40 to 110 mg. A gourd refilled several times can have much more — the first four cold refills measured 313 mg.
How much caffeine is in a can of yerba mate?
Yerba Madre (the store at guayaki.com) prints 150 mg on its cans and 115 mg on its sparkling cans. Other brands print their own figure on the label.
Is yerba mate stronger than espresso?
USDA puts a single espresso at 63 mg and a double at 126 mg. A 150 mg can is above a double; a 3 g tea bag (24 to 66 mg) is at or under a single.
Does brewing yerba mate longer or hotter add caffeine?
Longer, yes: in Kruszewski’s measurements at 70 °C, 15 minutes gave 15.0 mg per 100 mL and 60 minutes 25.8. Hotter, no: boiling water gave 11.8 to 15.8 mg per 100 mL over the same times.
How many yerba mates a day is too many?
The FDA cites 400 mg of caffeine a day for most adults, from everything you drink. Two 150 mg cans are 300 mg and three are 450 mg; one session of four cold gourd refills measured 313 mg. In pregnancy the line is lower; ask your doctor.
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- Mind Lab Pro vs Caffeine: Which Should You Actually Buy?
This is not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats anything. Caffeine affects people differently; in pregnancy, with a heart condition, or with blood thinners, antidepressants or blood-pressure medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist. Some links on this site are affiliate links: I buy what I review at full price, and a commission never changes a verdict.