How much caffeine is in yerba mate depends almost entirely on how much leaf you use: one 10-minute steep releases about 14 to 22 mg of caffeine per gram of dry yerba, about 18 mg on average. A 2 g tea bag gives roughly 36 mg, about the same as a cup of green or black tea. Canned and bottled mate drinks are stronger, typically 20 to 30 mg per 100 mL, which puts a 16 oz can at roughly 95 to 142 mg, in coffee territory.
Because the range is so wide, the number on your label or the grams you scoop are what count. Put that figure into the caffeine calculator to see what's left at bedtime.
Free toolCaffeine Cutoff CalculatorHow much caffeine is still in you at bedtime, and your latest cup.How much caffeine is in yerba mate?
About 18 mg per gram of dry yerba steeped, so multiply your grams by 18 for a working estimate. In a 2024 lab study, three commercial yerba mate products steeped once for 10 minutes released between 13.5 and 22 mg of caffeine per gram.
| Yerba steeped | Low (13.5 mg/g) | Average (17.8 mg/g) | High (22 mg/g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 g | about 14 mg | about 18 mg | about 22 mg |
| 2 g | about 27 mg | about 36 mg | about 44 mg |
| 3 g | about 41 mg | about 53 mg | about 66 mg |
| 5 g | about 68 mg | about 89 mg | about 110 mg |
Many tea boxes list grams per bag, so check yours. Loose yerba scooped by the spoonful is easy to overdo, which is one reason loose mate can feel much stronger than a bagged cup. A kitchen scale settles it.
Does yerba mate have more caffeine than coffee?
Usually not per cup, unless you use a lot of leaf or drink it from a can. An 8 oz cup of brewed coffee has about 95 mg. A typical bagged mate is closer to tea, and only around 5 g of yerba per cup reaches coffee levels.
| Drink | Typical caffeine |
|---|---|
| Brewed coffee, 8 oz | about 95 mg |
| Canned or bottled mate, 16 oz | about 95 to 142 mg |
| Yerba mate, 5 g steeped | about 89 mg |
| Black tea, 8 oz | about 47 mg |
| Yerba mate tea bag, 2 g | about 36 mg |
| Green tea, 8 oz | about 28 mg |
For how tea and coffee compare in general, see does tea have more caffeine than coffee. The full caffeine in drinks chart covers sodas and energy drinks.
How much caffeine is in mate from a gourd?
The first pours are the strongest, and each refill of hot water pulls out less. That's why a gourd session is hard to pin to a single number.
A Brazilian study simulated traditional chimarrão, where hot water is poured over a gourd packed with yerba and sipped through a metal straw, then refilled again and again. As summarized in the 2024 study above:
- First pours: about 13.7 to 26.4 mg of caffeine per 100 mL, or roughly 32 to 63 mg per 8 oz
- By the 30th refill: down to about 1.5 to 6.6 mg per 100 mL
- Tereré (cold-water mate): about 35.8 mg per 100 mL in the first pours, or roughly 85 mg per 8 oz
The original study also found tereré extracted far more caffeine and related compounds overall than hot chimarrão, about 2.5 times as much as the strongest hot version. So a long afternoon passing a gourd can add up, especially early in the session and with cold water. Re-steeping a tea bag works the same way: in the lab study, a second steep still released about 14 mg per gram on average.
How much caffeine is in canned or bottled yerba mate?
Usually 20 to 30 mg per 100 mL, so check the can. In a 2023 analysis of 11 yerba mate drinks, the 9 that listed caffeine declared 20 to 30 mg per 100 mL, and measured content worked out to about 64 to 152 mg per serving for bottles and cans of 330 to 500 mL.
| Can or bottle size | At 20 mg/100 mL | At 30 mg/100 mL |
|---|---|---|
| 8 oz (237 mL) | about 47 mg | about 71 mg |
| 12 oz (355 mL) | about 71 mg | about 107 mg |
| 16 oz (473 mL) | about 95 mg | about 142 mg |
What time should I stop drinking yerba mate before bed?
A 2 g tea bag can be fine into the early evening, but a strong can should be a morning drink. These times are when each drink falls below about 25 mg by bedtime, using an average 5-hour half-life.
| Drink | Caffeine | Bed at 10 PM | Bed at 10:30 PM | Bed at 11 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tea bag, 2 g | about 36 mg | 7:20 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:20 PM |
| Loose yerba, 3 g | about 53 mg | 4:30 PM | 5:00 PM | 5:30 PM |
| Loose yerba, 5 g | about 89 mg | 12:50 PM | 1:20 PM | 1:50 PM |
| Can, 16 oz, lower end | about 95 mg | 12:20 PM | 12:50 PM | 1:20 PM |
| Can, 16 oz, higher end | about 142 mg | 9:25 AM | 9:55 AM | 10:25 AM |
The 25 mg mark isn't an official limit, but it's a sensible target for sleep. Some people clear caffeine much more slowly, and pregnancy, some medications and liver problems stretch it out further. For more on why it lingers, see how long caffeine lasts.
How to drink yerba mate without losing sleep
- Weigh or count your grams once, so you know your usual dose.
- Save cans and big loose-leaf servings for the morning.
- Front-load gourd sessions. The early pours carry most of the caffeine, so start earlier rather than later.
- Count every source. Mate after a morning coffee adds up. See how much caffeine is too much for daily limits.
- Switch to an herbal tea after mid-afternoon if you're sensitive.