 2. Don't say that Mate is unhygienic
You may feel that it is unhygienic to put your mouth where everybody puts theirs. Of course it is, but that is expressly why sharing a Mate is such an intimate experience. The offer to share something so intimate is the highest honor of all. If you don't want to be that close to someone, don't share a Mate with them. Otherwise, don't say anything about the hygiene of the experience.
3. Don't say the Mate is too hot
If everyone else is happy with the temperature it would be considered rude to ask them to cool it down, or to wait until it cools naturally.
4. Don't leave the Mate half-way
Despite the great similarity between Mate and the peace pipe, there are some basic differences. While everyone just takes one puff in the calumet and passes it on, don't ever do that with Mate. You must sip all the water until hearing the noise signaling the gourd is empty. See the next rule.
5. Don't feel ashamed of the noise at the end
If, after sipping, you hear the gourd "snoring," don't feel ashamed. It is all right, no one will look upon you as being rude. It's what you are suppose to do.
6. Don't stir the gourd
The gourd may get clogged from time to time, due to itself, to the Yerba or to who prepared the Mate. If that happens, you have all the right to complain. But, please, don't stir the gourd. Talk to who offered you the Mate or passed the gourd to you. But don't stir the gourd, don't stir the gourd and, above all, don't stir the gourd.
 7. Don't change the order
A Mate round works like a clock. The gourd passes from hand to hand, always in the same order. If you are being served, hand it back to the server. If people are pouring their own water, which happens in some places, always pass it the next person without changing the order.
8. Don't slow down the rhythm
Drinking Mate alone is an excellent way to meditate on the things in your life. You drink leisurely, thinking about whatever drifts your way. To have a Mate in a circle of people is quite different. The essence is not meditation but rather integration. In a Mate round, you talk, discuss, laugh, swear; you are part of a community; it is a fraternization. Don't forget to sip; the other people are waiting.
9. Don't condemn the server for being the first to drink
If you say the server is rude because he or she prepares the Mate and is the first to drink, well, you are the rude one. The strongest sip is the first one, and whoever takes it is seen as doing the group a favor.
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