When purchasing your first bag of yerba mate, you’ll notice most brands come in only two sizes – 500 grams (half a kilogram) and 1000 grams (1 kilo).

Now, this typically confuses the average person as most teas (black and green) run a lot smaller and go by the ounce. So when they see yerba mate, they don’t have a solid baseline as to how long a bag will last them.

To make matters worse, the serving size of yerba mate isn’t exactly clear either. With most tea, you’re going for about one tablespoon. But for yerba mate, you’re filling 1/2-2/3 of your gourd with leaves. Not that precise is it?

How can we determine then how long 1 kilogram of yerba mate will last us?

Well first, we need to figure out the serving size…

Yerba Mate Serving Size

As we just went over, there’s no exact serving size for yerba mate. Why? Because most people who prepare yerba mate don’t measure how much they’re using (me included). We just eyeball it and go with the flow.

With that said, the best we can do is come up with an approximate range most people use by taking into account gourd size.

Now, gourds come in all different shapes and sizes. Some gourds can be as small as a tangerine, while some can be as big as your head. The common average-sized gourd though is somewhere in between. Let’s go with say the size of a big apple.

So to calculate the serving size, I weighed how much yerba I’d use in some of my gourds that are also about the size of an apple.

And the serving size comes out to be around 30-40 grams.

How Long Does 1KG Of Yerba Mate Last?

If the average gourd holds 30-40 grams of yerba, we can now easily calculate how many servings are in a kilogram. We’ll divide 1000 grams (1kg) by 35 grams (average serving size) which comes out to a total of 28 servings. And if we drink mate every day, then 1 kilogram of yerba will last us about 1 month. While a 500-gram bag will last us about half a month with a total of 14 servings.

Now, this will obviously vary from one person to another. But nonetheless, that’s a pretty long time if you ask me. And considering how inexpensive mate is, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

I also must add, these serving sizes are most accurate for Argentinian and Paraguayan brands which feature a similar cut.

You will find slight variation in serving size when drinking other types of yerba mate such as brands from Uruguay and Brazil. The reason for this comes down to the cut.

Argentinian and Paraguayan brands mostly feature coarse-cut leaves and large stems. While Uruguayan and Brazilian brands (known as chimarrão) contain more fine-cut leaves, little to no stems, and loads of dust. Because of this, their yerba takes up a lot less surface area, allowing you to fill your gourd with more leaves before it’s 1/2 or 2/3 full.

With these brands, you can expect to use an extra 5-15 grams and your kilogram bag to be used up faster.

What If You’re Not Using A Gourd And Bombilla?

If you decide to brew yerba mate with a tea strainer or teapot instead of a gourd and bombilla, then a kilogram will last you much, much longer.

When preparing yerba mate this way, the serving size is similar to that of other teas.

You will use 1 tablespoon of yerba mate per 8 ounces of water.

If one tablespoon of yerba mate comes out to around 3-5 grams, then you can get a total of around 250 servings from just one kilo! Or in other words, one pack will last you over half a year when consumed daily.

Final Words

A single pack of yerba mate can last you a lot of drinking sessions.

Remember, the above is only a rough estimate.

You may use a gourd that’s smaller and only requires 10-15 grams of yerba. If that’s the case, a kilo will last you much longer. Meanwhile, on the other hand, if you use a gourd that’s larger and requires 50+ grams, a kilo will go by fast.

But on average, a good timeline for a one-kilogram bag is about one month.

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