I Built a Yerba Mate Caffeine Calculator That Accounts for Preparation Method

Most caffeine calculators treat yerba mate as a single item — "one cup = 85mg caffeine." But anyone who actually drinks mate knows that's wildly inaccurate. A traditional calabaza shared over an hour delivers a completely different caffeine profile than a quick mate cocido tea bag. So I built a calculator that models caffeine extraction based on preparation method, water temperature, steeping time, and number of refills. The Problem: Mate Caffeine Varies 3x I analyzed published research on yerba mate caffeine content and found enormous variation: Preparation Caffeine per serving Mate cocido (tea bag) 20-40mg French press 60-90mg Traditional calabaza (1st pour) 65-130mg Traditional calabaza (full session, 10+ refills) 200-400mg Tereré (cold water) 15-35mg The 3x+ variation means a blanket "85mg" number is misleading. A mate session can deliver more caffeine than two espressos — or less than a green tea, depending on how you prepare it. How It Works The calculator uses three key variable