Can You Brew Yerba Mate in a Drip Coffee Maker with a Paper Filter?

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Can you brew Yerba Mate in a coffee maker?

Quick Answer, yes. You can try.

Although... It might make a mess and you might not like it. 

But let's look into it and some other variations you can try.

First, why drink this stuff?

This tea a legendary alternative to coffee or energy drinks. It is my preferred work drink, through and through.

Yerba mate has a caffeine hit that doesn't feel like coffee. It's cleaner, more sustained, without the spike and crash. It's also packed with antioxidants and has a reputation for focus without the jitters.

For a lot of people, it's a whole different energy experience.

I did a 30 day experiment last year, no coffee, only mate.

100% Would recommend trying it!

The traditional way to drink it is from a gourd with a metal straw, sipping slowly, refilling with hot water multiple times. It's a ritual. It's also an acquired taste, and if you're sensitive to bitter drinks, the traditional prep can be a lot to get used to. The bitterness is real, especially when you're starting out.

Brewing mate with other methods opens things up. You can control the strength more easily, add milk, honey, or citrus, and generally make it more approachable without losing what makes it worth drinking. That flexibility matters. 

But it matters how you brew it. Not every method works, and some are genuinely bad. Here are my honest thoughts on making mate with a coffee pot, which for most people is the most obvious place to start.

Here's what happens at each step of the brewing ladder, from worst to best.

So... does it work to make yerba mate in a drip coffee maker?

Paper filters are typically a no-go for yerba mate, as gravity won't be enough to push the dust through. It will clog the paper pores.

Yerba mate is dusty by nature. I remember trying to make really fine-ground Colombian coffee go through a coffee pot. Utter failure. The water ended up sitting on top of the mud-like grounds. No success there. 

What does work: If you do have a washable coffee pot filter, those are made of a mesh that does work with yerba mate, as the material is not as fine as paper:

You can get these on Amazon. 

Here's the other problem, though. The amount of time and temperature will be too much for mate. It will be hard to get a balanced brew. Especially for the first steeping, yerba mate should have a much more mild temperature, or even a cold water start before adding the hot water. 

I wrote about how to stop making bitter yerba mate here. This applies to most teas, and will save you from a lot of bitterness.

It has a lot to do with time and temperature.

Coffee pot is a last ditch effort. There are much better ways. If you want to go for coffee pot still, here's one for your best shot. Affordable and legit.

My Vote for Coffee Pot:

Control of Water Temperature:  1/10

Control of Brewing Time:  1/10

Cleanup:  5/10

How about French Press?

The French press feels like the logical next step up. Metal mesh filter, more flow-through, no clogging. But here's the problem: the metal mesh on a French press is too loose for mate.

Mate leaf is ground much finer than coffee. That dusty, almost muddy sediment that settles at the bottom of a gourd? It passes right through a French press filter and ends up in your cup. You'll be drinking gritty, silty mate with a layer of debris at the bottom. It's not undrinkable, but it's not good either. The French press is what you use when you have nothing else available, not what you'd choose on purpose.

Plus - it never stops brewing. Even when you push the plunger... it doesn't fully separate it. The tea will continue to get more bitter over time. 

My Vote for French Press:

Control of Water Temperature:  10/10

Control of Brewing Time:  7/10 

Cleanup:  3/10

What actually works: the AeroPress

The AeroPress sits in the sweet spot. The paper filter it uses is fine enough to catch the mate dust and sediment, but because you're pushing the brew through with pressure rather than relying on gravity through a slow drip, it doesn't clog.

You get a clean, full-bodied cup without the silt.

It also gives you control over steep time and temperature, which matters for mate. Too hot and it goes bitter. The AeroPress makes it easy to get that right.

I wrote a full guide specifically on brewing yerba mate in an AeroPress. It is the best method Ive used so far.

Blog: Yerba Mate AeroPress: The Cleanest Brew You're Not Making Yet

My Vote for Aeropress:

Control of Water Temperature:  10/10

Control of Brewing Time:  10/10

Cleanup:  10/10

Have fun. Let me know what worked for you!