This is a tongue-in-cheek summary of the DOs and DON'Ts of yerba mate etiquette.

1) Do NOT ask for sugar: When you are invited to share a mate, asking for sugar is the greatest sacrilege imaginable.

2) Do NOT say that the drinking pipe is unsanitary or clean the top of it with your hand: The Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, sharing a yerba with someone is a part of normal social intercourse in Argentina and Uruguay. If you don't want such an approach, don't share the mate. But if you want to, accept it without mentioning the subject.

3) Do NOT say that the mate is very hot: If the rest of the mateada companions agree with the temperature, it would be considered rude to ask to be cooled down.

4) Do NOT leave the mate gourd half full: You should drink all the water until you hear the sound that indicates that the mate is empty. Mate is not the pipe of peace, which is puffed and passed.

5) Do NOT be ashamed of the noise at the end: It is normal and it can seen as the mate "snoring" when you finish drinking.

6) Do NOT stir the mate: The drinking pipe can be blocked from time to time by very fine yerba or be poorly primed. In this case, return the mate to the primer. But don't touch the drinking pipe.

7) Do NOT change the drinking order: A mateada goes around clockwise. Mate passes from hand to hand always in the same order. If you are being served, pass the mate to the starter. Do not seek to change the order.

8) Do NOT slow down: When you drink mate alone, it is a good habit to meditate, think, and so on. But when you are drinking with friends, mateada is part of the community, you talk, argue, laugh. You are part. Don't forget the rest is waiting for you.

9) Do NOT condemn the starter for taking the first mate: When the mate is “new”, the first turn is the strongest, therefore the starter does the group a favour by taking the first mate.

10) Do NOT say "thank you" ahead of time: We should give thanks when we are satisfied and we do not want to participate in the mateada anymore; if you say "thank you", it will be interpreted as "I don't want any more, thank you".

Source: fansdelmate.com