How Much Caffeine Is in Yerba Mate

A lot of people learn about yerba mate because they are researching alternatives for coffee, energy drinks and other caffeinated substances. You can often hear that yerba mate is a healthier option compared to other drinks and beverages, and provides a more stable and clean boost of energy without causing jitters. Naturally, people tend to get curious about the exact caffeine content of yerba mate, especially those who are sensitive to caffeine and already experienced the negative side effects of coffee and energy drinks. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly is caffeine, its effects on human body, different factors that affect the caffeine content of yerba mate and why the exact number of milligrams of caffeine in yerba mate really does not matter that much.

What is caffeine and how it works?

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in many foods and drinks, but primarily in coffee, tea, chocolate, guarana, guayusa and yerba mate. It primarily affects a central nervous system, increasing alertness and reducing fatigue. There are three main ways that caffeine stimulates a human body:

• Blocks the effects of adenosine, a brain chemical that makes you feel tired, thus making you more alert and awake;
• Increases adrenaline levels that enhances physical performance;
• Boosts dopamine production, which enhances mood and cognitive functions such as memory and concentration.

The main problem with caffeine is that too much of it in the short span of time will not just make you alert and ready for physical exertion, but will go overboard and make you anxious, restless, insomnious and overly increase your heart rate. The other issue with caffeine that it only has a temporary effect on your body, and with too much caffeine you can experience what is called crashing, when all of a sudden you no longer feel alert and clear minded, but instead rapidly becoming weak, tired and grumpy.

Caffeine in yerba mate

Determining the caffeine content in yerba mate is actually not that simple. The most precise way of measuring caffeine is by using UV spectroscopy. This method involves measuring how much ultraviolet light is absorbed by the caffeine molecules. There also is mass spectrometry, that analyzes the chemical composition of the sample. Both of these methods require a specialized equipment available in laboratories. There are also caffeine strips that react with caffeine and change color, but are much less accurate and can only provide a rough estimation of the caffeine content.

The problem of measuring amount of caffeine in yerba mate is that it is affected by many factors, such as the age of the yerba mate plant, the season of harvesting, the climate, the region and altitude. Even the composition of cut can affect the caffeine content of yerba mate! Caffeine in yerba mate is contained only in the leaves of the plant, so yerba mate with con palo cut will have less caffeine than despalada simply due to a lower amount of stems in the sin palo cut.

Fun fact: highly caffeinated yerba mate, for instance, is harvested exclusively during summer.

In order for a producer to quantify the exact amount of caffeine in their yerba mate they need to constantly measure each of their batches across all the times of the year when they harvest their yerba mate, as well as additionally sample different cuts of yerba mate that they offer, which is very costly and time-consuming. That’s why majority of brands don’t measure caffeine in their yerba mate and do not indicate that amount anywhere on their bags.

The numbers

Still, we can find some numbers and try to conclude the average caffeine content. For example, Cooperativa Liebig and Piporé are one of the few brands that indicate the amount of caffeine on their packaging. However, I still doubt the accuracy of those numbers. For starters, both of the producers use different approach — Piporé claims that their infusion of 50 grams of yerba mate extracted with 200 ml of 70° C / 160° F water contains 121 mg of caffeine, while Cooperativa Liebig indicates that their infusion of 50 grams of yerba mate extracted with 500 ml of 70° C / 160° F water contains 181 mg of caffeine.

In both of these cases I think that 200 ml and 500 ml are not sufficient to extract all the caffeine from 50 grams of yerba mate leaves. Although by this logic it makes sense that higher volume of water extracted more caffeine from the same amount of yerba mate. But, in case of Piporé, I found that all of their blends and cuts indicate the same amount of caffeine — 121 mg — no matter if it is Piporé Selección Especial, Piporé Sin Palo or Piporé Sublime. If anything, Piporé Sin Palo should be the most caffeinated of those simply by the fact that it has a higher leaf to stem ratio.

There are other sources that indicated the amount of caffeine contained in yerba mate. For instance, the most cited study claims that the concentration of caffeine in yerba mate is found to be 1% to 2% of dry weight ¹, meaning that 50 grams of yerba mate leaves contain approximately 500 mg to 1000 mg of caffeine, depending on aforementioned factors. However, even Argentine despaladas and Uruguayan P.U.1 blends that are on the market are not completely stem-free, therefore concentration of caffeine in commercial yerba mate is going to be much lower.

If we combine these sources of data, we can conclude that for an average Argentine con palo yerba mate, which arguably is the most popular regional type and cut of yerba mate worldwide, the amount of caffeine contained in a traditionally prepared mate, where approximately 50 grams of yerba in a moderate-sized gourd is repeatedly refilled over and over with total of 1 to 1.5 liters of water will extract in aggregate about 250 mg to 300 mg of caffeine over the whole drinking session.

Why then yerba mate feels better than other caffeinated beverages?

300 mg of caffeine may sound like a lot, but you have to take into account that mate is consumed differently compared to tea, coffee or canned energy drinks. Instead of chugging the whole amount of caffeine in a short amount of time, the most authentic way of consuming yerba mate, is to prepare it traditionally with a gourd and bombilla. When you drink mate traditionally, you refill the same yerba mate multiple times with water, gradually extracting the caffeine along with other vitamins, minerals and components contained in yerba mate over few hours. Think of traditional mate as an IV-drip, whereas a cup of coffee or a can of energy drink is more like a shot. You don’t expose your central nervous system to all that caffeine at once when drinking mate traditionally, that’s why you don’t feel that crashing like you do if you go overboard with coffee or Red Bull.

Another fun fact about yerba mate, is that unlike coffee or energy drinks, it contains theobromine, which is also contained in chocolate. Theobromine is what makes people call chocolate a “love drug”, as it provides a mild stimulation, increases happiness, improves cardiovascular health, blood pressure and acts as bronchodilator, inducing relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Theobromine balances out the stiffness and other physical effects such as jitters from caffeine consumption, which allow people who drink mate experience mental clarity and alertness without increased heart rate and negative sensations in the body ².

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Even after I discovered yerba mate many years ago, to this day I continue to enjoy it alongside with coffee and tea. I was never really into energy drinks, so it’s hard for me to compare mate to them, but the difference between yerba mate and coffee to me is startling. I still enjoy the complexity and flavors of a small cup of nice quality Peruvian or Brazilian arabica in the morning, but if I want to get stuff done and feel great throughout the day as well as in long term — mate is my go-to drink. It is a trusty companion during work and leisure times, before workout and while unwinding after a long day. I have never felt crazy jitters from yerba mate, nor I crashed from it later in the day, so my question to you is — does it really matter what exact amount of milligrams of caffeine is in yerba mate? If you’re on the verge of trying mate after bad experiences with coffee and energy drinks, I suggest you don’t look at the raw numbers, but to actually take a leap and try it for yourself. Drink the mate, pay attention to your body and how you feel, and I guarantee you won’t regret it!

Keep in mind that caffeine and theobromine are not the only things contained in yerba mate. Actually, it is one of the most healthy plants on the planet, rich in vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, xanthines and saponins. Check out our yerba mate health benefits guide to learn about all the scientifically proven positive effects that it has on the body and mind. If you’re interested to learn about the stimulating effects of different yerba mate brands, I advise you to check out our reviews section, where I share not only my experience with taste and durability of every yerba mate brand, but also how relaxing or energizing they feel during and after drinking.

What is your experience with yerba mate? How does it compare to other caffeinated beverages? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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