Usually, yes. Yerba maté tends to have more caffeine than green tea and often more than a cup of black tea, but the amount depends heavily on how it is prepared. A traditional gourd serve can carry well over a cup of tea, while a light teabag-style brew can carry less. If you are new to the drink, our guide to what yerba maté is covers the basics.

Key Takeaways

• Yerba maté often has more caffeine than tea, but preparation makes a big difference.

• A typical cup of black tea has about 48 mg of caffeine and green tea about 29 mg.

• Traditional gourd-style maté can reach well over 100 mg across a full session.

• A 330 ml can of Supermaté has 72.6 mg of caffeine.

• Your total caffeine across the day matters more than which drink it comes from.

How much caffeine is in yerba maté compared with tea?

Yerba maté covers a wider range than tea. The way you brew it can move it from below a cup of green tea to above a cup of black tea.

The tea figures come from the Mayo Clinic caffeine guide. The maté figures come from a 2005 study on yerba maté beverages published in Acta Farmacéutica Bonaerense, so treat them as a guide rather than a fixed rule.

Why does yerba maté caffeine vary so much?

Yerba maté is brewed in very different ways, and each one pulls out a different amount of caffeine.

• A traditional gourd is packed with leaves and topped up with water again and again, so it extracts far more than a single teabag.

• Hotter water and longer steeping generally draw out more caffeine than a quick, cooler brew.

• Maté is often sipped slowly over a long session, while tea is usually drunk as one cup.

• Different blends, including how much stem is in the mix, can change the strength of the brew.

For a closer look at how preparation changes the numbers, our blog post on how much caffeine is in yerba maté tea goes into more detail.

Does yerba maté caffeine feel different from tea caffeine?

The caffeine itself is the same molecule, whether it comes from tea leaves or yerba maté leaves. What differs is everything around it.

Yerba maté also contains theobromine (the same compound found in cacao) and plant compounds such as chlorogenic acids. Many people describe maté as a steadier, more switched-on lift than tea, but that is personal experience rather than a guarantee. Your own caffeine sensitivity, sleep and food will shape how any drink feels.

How does a can of Supermaté compare with a cup of tea?

A 330 ml can of Supermaté contains 72.6 mg of caffeine, according to our product FAQs. That is more than a typical cup of black tea, mostly because a can is a bigger serve.

Per 100 ml, it works out to about 22 mg, which is close to a strong black tea. The caffeine comes from brewed organic yerba maté tea, with black tea and natural caffeine extract also on the ingredient list. Because the caffeine is natural, there can be slight variation between batches.

How much caffeine is too much in a day?

There is no single number that suits everyone. Body weight, sensitivity, pregnancy and medication can all change what feels right.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has guidance on caffeine for different groups, including children and pregnant women. In practice, the simplest habit is to count every source, including coffee, tea, maté, cola and chocolate, and keep caffeine earlier in the day if sleep is already a struggle. Our Yerba Maté Health and Energy Hub has more reads on caffeine and everyday energy.

Somewhere between tea and coffee

If you want a little more lift than a cup of tea without jumping to a big coffee or energy drink, yerba maté sits in a useful middle. Supermaté brings that into a cold, fizzy, low sugar can, made locally in Melbourne.

Browse our yerba maté soda range to find your flavour and keep a few cans ready for the afternoon slump.