​How is tequila made? Step-by-step explained

Have you ever wondered how is tequila made? What plant do Mexicans use to create this alcohol drink? How many processes does the blue agave need to become a tequila? Today you will learn all of that and more! 

If, by any chance, you don't know what tequila is, here you can read more about it. 

First step of producing tequila. Planting of the blue agaves plants

It takes around 7 years until the agaves are ready to be used for tequila production. In some cases, the plants grow slowly and it can take up to 12 years!

Harvest the agave for tequila 

The special type of field workers called "jimadores" will use special knives called coa, to remove the leaves of the agave plants and get just the bulb called piña. The piña is the one used for tequila. 

Bake the agave piñas

First, the agave piñas are cut in two and baked. The baking is needed so the starchy sap inside of the piñas and turn into fermentable sugar. The tequila factories use ovens called "hornos" where the agave piñas are baked with steam for around 24 to 48 hours.

The sugar extraction

After the agave is baked, it needs to be shredded to release the sugar inside it. The traditional tequila method involves a mill called Tahona with is basically a huge turning rock, that turns in a circle and crashes the baked agave piñas until their release the sugar syrup. Modern tequila makers use another mechanical method of shredding the piñas, but still, the traditional method is used.

Fermentation

The agave juice that is extracted is called "aguamiel" (honey water). The sugars inside it must fermentate and for that process, the tequila producers are adding yeast to it. Now, depending on if it will be 100% agave tequila or mixto tequila (mixed) you will have a bit different process. In pure tequila, you don’t use any additional sugars, while in the mixto tequila you can add different sugars up to 49%. The fermentation takes between 1 and 4 days and it happens inside wood or stainless steel containers. The agaumiel is well oxidated so that the fermentation can run smoothly. The temperature is also controlled because the process stops if it becomes too hot (above 40 degrees centigrade). In the end, you will have a liquid called mosto with 3.8 to 6 % alcohol.

Distillation 

Now it is time to increase the alcohol content through a distillation process. The mosto is distilled twice. The first one leaves alcohol called ordinario (20-25 % alcohol), and the second is already a tequila (55-75 %).

Aging the tequila (optional)

All tequila is aged for at least 14 to 21 days. Silver tequila or Blanco tequila is aged for the minimum time. Aged tequila comes in three types: reposado (“rested,” aged for two months to one year), añejo (“aged,” aged for one to three years), and extra añejo (aged for over three years). To produce a more aged tequila, the distilled Blanco is put into aged oak barrels, which gives the tequila a golden color. There is also a fifth kind of tequila called Oro (“gold”), which is a mix of silver tequila and reposado tequila.

Learn more interesting facts about the tequila drink here. 

Blending and additional essence

In some cases, tequila producers add extra ingredients and flavors such as caramel (for darker color), glycerine, aromatizers, flavor, sugar syrup, oak extract, and more.

Filter and dilute

The tequila can have between 35 and 55 % alcohol so at this stage the tequila could be mixed with demineralized water and filtered with charcoal or cellulose. The tequila that Mexican producers sell in the USA is 40 %, on the South African market is 43 %, in Europe 37.5%, and between 35 and 38% in Mexico.

Bottle the tequila

Now it is the last part, bottle the tequila and put the tags on. It is ready to hit the shelves. 

"How tequila is made?" video

It is a lot easier to see than to imagine all of the processes. See the following video, and you will understand the process of tequila making in detail.

Outro

See, it is a really long process, but the final result, the delicious tequila, makes it all worth it. Next time when you are drinking a glass of tequila, please take a moment to think about it, and say cheers, to all the people that were involved in the tequila creation.

If you like tequila, you will for sure love mezcal. What? You don't know what mezcal is? Here we have a few very useful articles for you:

If you haven’t tried a mezcal, you haven’t lived! 

Mexican mezcal is a sip of heaven - Interesting facts about mezcal

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