Oh yeah absolutely they are! We take pride on the scars we got from the straws and hot water.

Really tho, that’s not a bad idea, but it would be a whole other drink, and it would lose a lot of things that make mate what it is for us, firstly the sharing, with traditional mate you can share because you only get a small amount of water, when you drink it all you give it back to the owner, and while it is gross it really bonds you with the people you’re sharing with. I personally don’t do it anymore and It’s becoming rarer, but it was common sharing on a big group even with people you didn’t really know, like friends of your friends. It even it’s considered somewhat rude to turn down if someone offers you to share. With the cup I think people would be a lot more aware of the grossness of sharing it, so they’ll continue to drink with straws.

Also the act of pouring the water is a ritual (even a skill or an art) that makes you pause what you’re doing every time you want to drink, and some people find this helps them to refocus, you can’t do this on the cup.

And finally you would be a pariah and be deported if the traditionalist catch drinking mate that way.