Best Thermometer for Mate

Unlike coffee, mate is never prepared with boiling water. And in my experience, different yerba mates behave differently at different temperatures, exhibiting the most balanced taste and the longest durability only with a specific water temperature. That’s why it is crucial to accurately measure the temperature of your water each time you’re making mate. The easiest and most affordable way of doing so is by using a food thermometer — a special kitchen device that is designed to measure temperature of the food before, during and after cooking. It is a great alternative to buying a kettle with a built-in temperature control, especially if you already have a regular stovetop or electric kettle, and you don’t want to spend money and space for yet another niche kitchen appliance. Food thermometers are affordable and small gadgets that you will definitely find useful not only for preparing water for mate, but in your day-to-day cooking, such as braising ribs, making candy, cooking steak or deep-frying.

What makes a good thermometer for mate?

Precise measurement

For some yerbas any hot water from 60° C to 85° C / 140° F to 185° F will be just fine, but for the majority of yerba mate brands on the market the difference between 65° C / 150° F and 75° C / 165° F can be tremendous. That is why precision of thermometer is so important! You don’t need the up-to-decimal-point accuracy from your food thermometer — I found that as long as it allows you to measure the temperature in at least five-degree increments, you will be able to prepare specific enough water.

Suitable for liquids

Not all food thermometers are designed for measuring the temperature of liquids! For example there are baking and fridge thermometers that measure the temperature inside the oven or refrigerator, but for the purposes of preparing the right water for mate you will need a thermometer with a sensor that has a direct contact with the water, be it via the steel probe or infrared beam. Also make sure that it is liquid-proof and can withstand being submerged in hot water, which most food thermometers are.

Fast reading system

Most times you will be using food thermometer while heating up the water, so in order to not overheat it you need your thermometer to display the correct temperature quickly. Not all food thermometers are capable to do so — some of them need a certain time, usually up to 30 seconds to “wind up”, which makes it hard for you to stop heating water when you reached that perfect desired temperature for your mate.

Best overall thermometer for mate

Packed with features, this digital food thermometer has everything you might need to heat the water for mate up to any desired temperature. This thermometer is by far is the most used one in my kitchen, especially for mate. It is very convenient to use, as the base stand allows you to put it onto the counter top, or you can use magnets on the back of the thermometer to attach it to a metal body of the stove. Even though I normally reach for my kettle with temperature control​ when I’m making my mate, I still use this thermometer in two scenarios:

• Let’s say someone in my family decided to make tea or coffee, and put a regular kettle with water on the stovetop. If I want to prepare some mate later, instead of putting yet another kettle with temperature control on the stovetop I simply set the notification alarm for a desired temperature, put the probe into the regular kettle and turn on the heat — the thermometer will notify me when water has reached desired temperature.
• If for whatever reason I was not able to finish my mate in the morning and I come back to it few hours later, leftover water in my thermos has already gone cold. I can then simply boil up some water in a regular kettle, put a thermometer probe into my thermos and then slowly add the boiling water to my thermos until the water inside the thermos will reach the desired temperature.

The only major downside of this thermometer for me is the fact that it requires using 2 AA batteries, so you need to keep a stash of batteries somewhere nearby when it will inevitably discharge. Also, the plastic switches and base stand are a little flimsy on this thermometer, and can be easily broken with not that much force.

ThermoPro Digital Food Thermometer with Stainless Steel Temperature Probe

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Best analog thermometer for mate

If you don’t want to rely on batteries or any other source of power, and you value simplicity and ruggedness, then the answer for you is analog food thermometer. But not any analog food thermometer will be suited for mate. In my experience, the best analog thermometer for heating up the water is the thermometer for drinks. It is specifically designed for measuring temperature of various liquids, such as milk, coffee and tea. Naturally, I also find it very convenient to use for heating up water for mate. The temperature range for this thermometer is between -15° C and 105° C / 5° F and 220° F , which is exactly what you want for mate, no more no less. This thermometer can be simply inserted into a pan or kettle, and depending on the construction of your kettle you can even clip it for a more stable and secure placement. It also features a relatively large analog dial with both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and an adjustable temperature marker. Long stainless steel probe on this thermometer is not as convenient as the corded one, but still should be enough for a normal-sized kettle or thermos.

Make sure not to mistake it with the candy thermometer​ — they look very much alike, but the temperature range on candy thermometer is much broader, because it is designed for liquids with much higher boiling point, such as syrups and oils. Although it may sound like this makes candy thermometer more versatile in the kitchen, in reality it will be harder to read precise temperature for mate, which is in the small range between 60° C and 85° C / 140° F and 185° F . The analog thermometer for drinks is very similar to the one that is built-into the stovetop kettle with temperature control​, and since it only measures up to 105° C / 220° F , it allows you to read the desired temperature for your mate much more accurately than the candy thermometer.

As with all analog devices, their main advantage is also their main disadvantage — you won’t get temperature alarm with this thermometer as it requires you to manually monitor the temperature on the dial. Although the dial on this particular thermometer is the most convenient one amongst competition, it still is somewhat hard to read a precise temperature up to a single degree, compared to a digital thermometer.

Analog Thermometer for Drinks

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Best digital thermometer for mate

If you want a digital thermometer that is not only limited to a kitchen, then you need an infrared thermometer gun. It is extremely convenient to use — you simply point the gun to the thing you want to measure, and it instantly gives you the temperature value. You can use infrared thermometer gun in the kitchen, on a barbecue, for your DIY projects at home or even in industrial setting. When it comes to mate, with infrared technology, there is no need for a probe, you don’t need to submerge anything and then clean it up or worry that the probe may contaminate your water.

As any other digital device, it requires using batteries, so there will always be some extra costs involved with using it on a regular basis. Also, in my experience, despite using a regular digital food thermometer more often than infrared one, the latter runs out of battery much quicker. And lastly, even though it is very convenient and quick to measure any temperature with this infrared thermometer gun, I find that it is less accurate when it comes to measuring temperature of clear liquids, such as water, and reflective surfaces, such as glass. The glossiness refracts the laser beam of infrared gun, and the final measurement comes out less precise compared to a regular digital thermometer. The precision of infrared thermometer should be enough for preparing water for mate, as it still provides an accurate ballpark temperature of water within the 5 degree error, just don’t expect the same level of accuracy of a digital food thermometer with a stainless steel probe, at least when it comes to water.

KIZEN Infrared Thermometer Gun

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Next steps

I can’t stress this point enough — water for mate is very important! I highly suggest you to read out detailed guide on that topic. The quality of water and of course its temperature is crucial to achieve a delicious and healthy mate. There are many ways to heat up the water for mate to a desired temperature, and if you want to take your mate game to the next level I recommend you to consider also getting a kettle with a temperature control. Despite using various food thermometers almost on a daily basis, I still find myself reaching for a kettle with a built-in thermometer first. Check out our best kettle for mate guide to pick the one that will suit you the most.

And of course, what’s the point of heating your water to a precise temperature, if it becomes cold shortly after? Take a look at our buying guide for the best thermos for mate. And if you’re not confident on what exact temperature you should aim for — make sure to visit our Reviews section where we cover in much detail various brands and blends of yerba mate, what taste, effects and durability to expect from them, and what temperature of water should you use to get the best out of any particular yerba mate.

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How do you prefer to heat up water for mate? What thermometer you decided to get and why? Do you have other food thermometers in your kitchen, and what do you use them for? Share it in the comments below!