Iced Yerba Mate Tea Recipe for a Natural Energy Boost

QUICK SUMMARY

Mama Z’s Iced Yerba Mate Tea is a simple, naturally caffeinated drink made with organic yerba mate tea, liquid stevia, purified water, and ice. It is an easy homemade alternative to sugary energy drinks and coffee-shop beverages.

Yerba mate naturally contains caffeine plus polyphenols such as chlorogenic acids. Human research suggests potential benefits for alertness, exercise performance, antioxidant activity, and some aspects of metabolic health, but it is best enjoyed as a beverage, not treated like a weight-loss shortcut.

Make the recipe first, then keep reading for a few quick ingredient notes, caffeine tips, and safety considerations.

My Iced Yerba Mate Tea is light, refreshing, and incredibly easy to make. If you want a little natural energy without the sugar and mystery ingredients in many canned energy drinks, this is one of my favorite options.

The Perfect Yerba Mate Tea Recipe

This tea is a two-step recipe that even the most novice natural living guru can make.

Iced Yerba Mate Tea (Vegan)

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Author Mama Z

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Servings

2x4x6x

Ingredients

• 3 organic Yerba Mate tea bags
• 4-6 droppersful plain or vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
• 8 ounces boiling purified OR distilled water
• 16 ounces cold purified OR distilled water
• Ice cubes AND/OR additional cold purified OR distilled water

Supplies

• 32-ounce glass water bottle

Instructions

 

• Place the Yerba Mate and stevia in a 32-ounce glass water bottle.
• Add the boiling purified water. Steep for 10-20 minutes. Add the cold water and fill the remaining bottle space with ice and/or cold water. Serve immediately or refrigerate. If serving immediately, fill the remaining bottle space with ice, then shake and serve.

Notes

To add an essential oils boost to this recipe, you can add one drop of lemon or lime essential oil.  This recipe contains natural sweeteners that act as dispersants to prevent you from irritating your mouth when you drink it.  Oils and water don’t mix, and you should never just drop an EO in water and take a gulp!

Step 1: Prep The Tea

First, prepare your tea. Place the Yerba tea bags and stevia in a 32-ounce glass water bottle. Add boiling hot water and let it steep for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Add Additional Water

After 10 minutes, your tea will have a lovely color, as shown in the above picture.

Next, add the cold water to the bottle and fill it to the top with ice. Serve immediately or refrigerate!

Ingredients to Make Yerba Mate Iced Tea

You do not need a traditional gourd or bombilla for this version. All you need is a few organic Yerba Mate tea bags, liquid stevia, purified water, ice, and a glass water bottle or other heat-safe glass vessel.

Because the recipe starts with boiling water, make sure the glass is rated for hot liquids. Do not pour boiling water into cold or non-heat-safe glass.

I like liquid stevia because it keeps the recipe simple and lets you control the sweetness without adding sugar. If you grow stevia yourself, even better!

Optional Lemon or Lime Essential Oil

For a bright citrus flavor, you can add one drop of lemon essential oil or culinary lime essential oil to the complete 32-ounce batch.

This is culinary internal use. Keep it to the recipe amount, use an essential oil appropriate for culinary use, and blend the drop into the liquid stevia before adding water so it is dispersed rather than floating in plain water.

Why Choose Yerba Mate Over Energy Drinks?

Yerba Mate gives you naturally occurring caffeine in a traditional botanical drink rather than a highly formulated energy product.

According to the FDA, caffeine content in energy drinks varies widely, and for most healthy adults up to 400 milligrams per day is not generally associated with negative effects. Individual tolerance still matters. Too much caffeine can contribute to jitters, anxiety, sleep disruption, palpitations, upset stomach, nausea, and headaches. (1)

The reason I like homemade Yerba Mate is simple: water, organic tea, a little stevia, and optional citrus. No sugary syrup. No mystery stimulant stack.

Yerba Mate Sources and Uses

Yerba Mate comes from Ilex paraguariensis, an evergreen plant native to South America and traditionally consumed in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, and surrounding regions. (3)

Traditionally, mate is often prepared in a gourd and sipped through a filtered straw called a bombilla. This recipe keeps things much easier by using tea bags and serving the drink iced.

Serving it iced also avoids the concern associated with drinking beverages extremely hot. IARC concluded that beverages consumed above about 65°C or 149°F are probably carcinogenic because repeated thermal injury may raise esophageal cancer risk. IARC did not find conclusive evidence that mate consumed at lower temperatures causes cancer. (4)

Benefits of Yerba Mate Tea

Yerba Mate contains caffeine, theobromine, chlorogenic acids, flavonoids, saponins, and other plant compounds. (3)

The most practical benefit is simple: natural energy and alertness. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so Yerba Mate can be a useful morning or early-afternoon option when you want a lift.

Research has also explored exercise performance, fat oxidation, antioxidant activity, glucose control, appetite, and body composition. A 2023 systematic review found promising results across several of these areas, but much of the evidence was low quality or at high risk of bias. (5)

A 2015 randomized trial using a concentrated Yerba Mate preparation found reductions in body-fat measures, while a 2025 meta-analysis found that overall effects on weight management appear limited. (6, 7)

A separate 2025 crossover trial found some favorable cardiometabolic changes from Yerba Mate tea, though total body weight did not significantly change. (8)

So enjoy Yerba Mate for what it is: a caffeinated, polyphenol-rich beverage that may support energy, exercise, and metabolic health as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Yerba Mate Tea FAQs

Does Yerba Mate have caffeine?

Yes. The amount varies by product, serving size, water temperature, and steep time. If you are sensitive to caffeine, start with a smaller serving.

Can Yerba Mate interfere with sleep?

Yes. Caffeine can delay sleep or reduce sleep quality, especially later in the day. Enjoy it earlier rather than letting your energy drink steal from your night’s rest.

Does Yerba Mate help with weight loss?

It may support some metabolic markers, appetite-related hormones, and fat oxidation, but current human evidence does not support treating it like a stand-alone weight-loss solution. (7, 8, 9)

Can I drink Yerba Mate while pregnant?

Yerba Mate contains caffeine, so count it toward your daily intake. NIH pregnancy guidance notes that moderate caffeine intake up to 200 milligrams per day does not appear to increase miscarriage or preterm-birth risk, though uncertainty remains around some other pregnancy outcomes. Check your product and discuss your total intake with your prenatal practitioner. (10)

Can I ingest essential oils?

Do not casually ingest essential oils in plain water or use them neat. Internal use requires product-specific dosing and appropriate dilution. Learn more about how to ingest essential oils here.

Final Thoughts on Iced Yerba Mate Tea

You do not need a fluorescent can or sugar-heavy latte every time you want a little energy.

Sometimes a simple glass of tea will do.

Keep it cold, make it as sweet as you like, enjoy it early enough that your sleep stays protected, and use the optional citrus essential oil responsibly if you want a bright twist.