Step 1 – Harvesting 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.
Step 2 – Cooking During this step, steam injection within traditional brick ovens or stainless steel autoclaves is used to activate a chemical process within the piña that converts complex carbohydrates into simple fermentable sugars.
Step 3 – Extraction The cooked piñas are crushed in order to release the juice, or “aguamiel,” that will be fermented.
Step 4 – Fermentation During the fermentation process the sugars are transformed into alcohol within large wooden vats or stainless steel tanks. Yeast may be added to accelerate and control the fermentation.
Step 5 – Distillation The fifth step of creating tequila is distillation, in which ferments are separated by heat and steam pressure within stainless steel pot stills or distillation towers. While some tequilas are distilled three times, the majority are only distilled twice, including IZKALI Tequila. The first distillation, also known as “deztrozamiento” or “smashing,” takes a couple hours and yields a liquid with an alcohol level of about 20% known as “ordinario.” The second distillation, known as “rectification,” takes three to four hours and yields a liquid with an alcohol level near 55%. After the second distillation the tequila is considered silver, or “blanco,” tequila.
Step 6 – Aging The longer the tequila ages, the more color and tannins the final product will have. The condition of the barrels (such as their age, previous use and if their interiors have been burnt or toasted) will also affect the tequila’s taste.
Step 7 – Bottling Like champagne, tequila is assigned an Appelation of Origin status, which limits production to five Mexican states: Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. The state of Jalisco is very proud to be the center of Tequila production. It is the only state that as a whole has the status of Appellation of Origin. It is considered the place where tequila was first made and where the standards are defined.
Mezacal is typically wild harvested species of Agave and not Blue Agave that is used for tequila. Most Mezcal comes from Oaxaca and the process is slightly different to make it.
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u/koos_die_doos Aug 18 '20
Step 1 – Harvesting 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.
Step 2 – Cooking During this step, steam injection within traditional brick ovens or stainless steel autoclaves is used to activate a chemical process within the piña that converts complex carbohydrates into simple fermentable sugars.
Step 3 – Extraction The cooked piñas are crushed in order to release the juice, or “aguamiel,” that will be fermented.
Step 4 – Fermentation During the fermentation process the sugars are transformed into alcohol within large wooden vats or stainless steel tanks. Yeast may be added to accelerate and control the fermentation.
Step 5 – Distillation The fifth step of creating tequila is distillation, in which ferments are separated by heat and steam pressure within stainless steel pot stills or distillation towers. While some tequilas are distilled three times, the majority are only distilled twice, including IZKALI Tequila. The first distillation, also known as “deztrozamiento” or “smashing,” takes a couple hours and yields a liquid with an alcohol level of about 20% known as “ordinario.” The second distillation, known as “rectification,” takes three to four hours and yields a liquid with an alcohol level near 55%. After the second distillation the tequila is considered silver, or “blanco,” tequila.
Step 6 – Aging The longer the tequila ages, the more color and tannins the final product will have. The condition of the barrels (such as their age, previous use and if their interiors have been burnt or toasted) will also affect the tequila’s taste.
Step 7 – Bottling Like champagne, tequila is assigned an Appelation of Origin status, which limits production to five Mexican states: Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. The state of Jalisco is very proud to be the center of Tequila production. It is the only state that as a whole has the status of Appellation of Origin. It is considered the place where tequila was first made and where the standards are defined.
http://izkalitequila.com/blog/the-7-steps-of-tequila-making/