A lot of people (most people) think that tequila is made from a Cactus…this is not true and to shed a little more light on it here’s the tequila making process for you…
Tequila is made from the Weber Blue Agave plant grown in the Jalaisco region of Mexico and this region only.
Once the agave reaches certain maturity the Jimadores, strong men who farm the agave, chose the best plants and they start cutting its leaves back to leave what resembles a pineapple. Then these ‘pina’s’ are transported to a factory in order to be processed.
In order to assure an efficient cooking process, the agaves or pinas are cut in half to manage a greater penetration of steam.
Approximately 100 tons of agave are received daily to be processed.
Once the pinas are cut in half they are ready for the cooking process, which takes place in brick furnaces. This process lasts 48 hours (24 hrs for cooking & 48 hrs for cooling).
The cooked agave is then passed to mechanical mills where the juices are extracted.
The extracted juices from the agave undergoes a fermentation process in tanks with a capacity of around 30,000 litres. This process lasts between 102 and 120 hours.
This process is one of the key stages in the elaboration of tequilas, which is done in open containers without adding additional heat and is usually distilled twice with the heads and tails cut to obtain pure tequila!
Now you know how tequila is made then perhaps you’ll be able to enjoy it that much more knowing how much hard work goes into making this unique spirit!
Jay
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