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Tequila Research Paper

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Tequila is a spirit made from blue agave. It originated in the Mexican city of Tequila. The volcanic soil in Tequila is suited well to grow the blue agave plant. More than 300 million blue agave plants are harvested from Tequila each year. According to Mexican law, tequila can be produced only in Jalisco and four other Mexican states. Mexico also is granted the international right to use the word “tequila.” The United States recognizes that tequila can be produced only in Mexico. HARVESTING Months before the agave plant is harvested, a Mexican farmer — known as a jimador — uses a coa, a sharp cutting tool, to prepare the plant for harvest. To achieve this, the jimador removes the central flower spike, which forces the plant to send sap to …show more content…

The hearts, piñas, of the plant are transported to the ovens of the distillery. The piñas are baked slowly in order to break down the complex starches into simple sugars. The baked piñas are mashed or shredded under a tahona (a large stone wheel). The juice that is extracted from this process is then poured into stainless steel or wooden vats and left several days to ferment. This process results in a wort, or a liquid with low alcohol content. The wort is distilled once and then a second time to produce clear tequila. Some distillers repeated the distillation process a third time, but some tequila producers regard this as a mistake because it removes some of the tequila’s flavor. After distillation, the tequila is bottled as “blanco” tequila. To produce a mellower flavor or amber colored tequila, instead of being bottled after distillation, the tequila will be left to age in wooden barrels. LOWLAND VS. HIGHLAND Blue agave plants grown in warmer lowland areas provide tequila with a vegetal, earthy, and black pepper flavors. Alternately, agave grown in the cooler Los Altos highlands result in sweeter, fruiter tasting tequila with floral notes.

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