Tequila is a very special and strange sugar source-the sugar contained in the juice of agave grass heart (bulb). ?

Among several tequilas, tequila is made from the juice of blue tequila. According to the soil, climate and cultivation methods, the average growth period of this plant is eight to fourteen years. In contrast, the growth period of other agave varieties used by Meskar is generally shorter than that of blue agave.

According to the regulations, as long as more than 5 1% of the raw materials used come from blue agave grass, the produced wine is qualified to be called tequila, and the insufficient raw materials are replaced by adding other kinds of sugar (usually sucrose extracted from sugarcane). This wine is called Mixto. ?

Cooking method

After the raw materials arrive at the winery, they are generally cut into four pieces for further cooking. The wax outside the weeding core or the leaves that have not been cut cleanly are removed, because these substances will become bitter sources in the cooking process, and wineries that use modern equipment all use high-temperature steam injection to achieve the same effect.

Traditionally, wineries use a steam room or a stone or brick stove called Horno in Spanish to slowly soften the cut agave heart, which takes 50 to 72 hours.

Under the slow fire of 60-85 degrees Celsius, plant fibers will slowly soften and release natural juice, but they will not be burnt because of too much fire, which will make the juice bitter or unnecessarily consume valuable fermentable sugar.

In addition, baking agave in the oven has another advantage, that is, there are more ways to keep the original flavor of plants. Traditional wineries will let the agave heart cool for 24 to 36 hours after cooking, and then grind it to remove the pulp.

When the hearts of agave are completely softened and cooled, workers will break them with sledgehammers, and then transport them to a giant mill called Tahona, which is traditionally driven by donkeys or cows to grind them more. As for agave juice (called Aquamiel, which means sugar water), after mixing some pure water, put it in a vat and wait for fermentation.

fermentative process

After cooking, workers will sprinkle yeast on Tepache agave juice for fermentation. The containers used to ferment agave juice may be wooden or modern stainless steel wine cans. In order to speed up the fermentation process, many modern breweries speed up the production of yeast by adding specific chemicals, shortening the time to two or three days.

distillation method

After the fermentation process, the dragon orchid juice is made into fermented wine with an alcohol content of about 5% to 7%, which is similar to beer. Modern wineries use continuous distillers made of stainless steel. The first distillation takes one and a half to two hours, and the alcohol content of the produced wine is about 20%.

A perfectly aged wine.

The new tequila just distilled is completely transparent and colorless. The colored tequila seen in the market is aged in oak barrels, or because caramel is added to the wine.

There are many sources of oak barrels used in aged tequila, and the most common one is the second-hand bourbon barrel imported from the United States. Tequila has no minimum aging period, but it can also be graded according to aging methods.

Extended data:

Drinking method of Longlan tongue wine

In Mexico, the traditional drinking method of tequila is very special and requires some skills. First, sprinkle salt on the back of your hand, hold a small glass of pure tequila with your thumb and forefinger, and then hold a lemon slice with your ring finger and middle finger.

Lick the salt off the tiger's mouth quickly, then drink the wine immediately and take a bite of lemon slices. The whole process is done in one go, and both the flavor and the drinking method are a must.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Longlan Tongue