The 7 Steps of Tequila Making Written on September 7, 2012
Warning: Division by zero in /data/26/2/11/13/2500176/user/2738275/htdocs/blog/wpincludes/functions.php on line 4239 Ever wonder how IZKALI tequila is made? We’ve got the answers for you! True tequila is made from blue agave, a succulent plant found in Mexican regions. The production of tequila is divided into seven steps: harvesting, cooking, fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling. Every step is regulated by the Consejo Regulador de Tequila, ensuring that general guidelines are followed to guarantee maximum quality. Each distillery has its own source of agave, processes, quality control and techniques that will affect each tequila’s taste. Step 1 – Harvesting The planting, tending and harvesting of the agave plant remains a manual effort that relies on centuries-old know how that has been passed down from generation to generation. The agave used in IZKALI’s tequila is grown in the distillery’s own fields which have been cultivated for three generations. The plants grow in neat rows for six to ten years and are meticulously tended until they are ripe and ready to harvest.
The harvester, or “Jimador” removes the agave leaves with a sharp curved tool called a Coa. He trims the 200 plus leaves that protect the heart or piña of the agave until the whole heart is extracted from the ground. Only the heart, or “piña,” of the agave plant is used to make tequila. Mature piñas weigh in between a hefty eighty and three hundred pounds; however, the size of the agave heart is not nearly as important as its sugar content. The older the agave, the longer the piña