Coffee Vs Yerba Mate: Here's Which Has More Caffeine

The age-old debate over whether you should start your morning with coffee or tea has no right answer, but when it comes to pure caffeine levels coffee packs a stronger punch than black or green tea. However, if you're a yerba mate drinker, that almost-tea which is part of a traditional Argentinian breakfast, you'll know you can get a pretty good boost from it. There's some debate over how similar to tea yerba mate really is in the first place. It's technically made from a different plant than standard teas, for one, but its caffeine levels are also closer to coffee's.

Caffeine levels vary by coffee roast and yerba mate variety, but we can break it down some more. On average, an 8 ounce cup of coffee contains about 95 milligrams of caffeine, although it can go up to 200 milligrams in an especially strong cup. On the other side of things, an 8 ounce cup of yerba mate will likely have around 80 milligrams of caffeine. In other words, yerba mate has more caffeine than regular tea, but what you're drinking from your mate cup is unlikely to be as caffeinated as a coffee.

Caffeine levels can be tough to measure, as you need access to ultraviolet spectroscopy equipment to get precise numbers. In the realm of coffee, dark roasts will have less caffeine than light roasts because the beans have been heated for longer (cooking away some of that caffeine). Granted, it's a small difference that's hard to notice. What's more noticeable is the style of coffee bean used to brew the coffee. The majority of coffee is made using Arabica beans, but there are other styles like Robusta beans which pack way more caffeine inside of them.

The natural caffeine content inside yerba mate can be altered by lots of factors, including the season when it was harvested and the area the plant grew in. Also keep in mind that yerba mate is sometimes served in bigger containers if you buy it pre-made at a store. Guayakí's Yerba Madre, for example, has 150 milligrams of caffeine per 15 ounce serving, while Mateína yerba mate contains about 120 milligrams per 12 ounce serving. If you drink the whole can, you will get more caffeine here than from an 8 ounce cup of coffee. If you can't stand the flavor of coffee (it's an acquired taste, after all) yerba mate can help you become a morning person if you want something strong which tastes more herbal.