Tequila production process

During my 20 years experience in the Tequila Industry, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is: which is the best way to extract the agave sugar?

There are plenty of misconceptions regarding this subject, and in this article, we will explore and consider the pros and cons of the principal processes that have been implemented in Casa Sauza. In my previous article, we mentioned the 3 principal processes to extract the agave sugar, going from the oldest to the most modern process.

• Grinding in the tahona
• Grinding in the mill
• Gentle extraction of agave sugar

Agave grinding in the tahona

We have to remember this is an antique process, and thereby, it has some disadvantages. One of them is that the process takes place outdoors, and the surface where the pressing happens it's not totally flat or regular, so the floor can't be easily cleaned. Stone and concrete have many pores and small holes that may save polluted substances hard to eliminate.

Photo published by tequilasipper in his blog.

What kind of pollution may be present in the pressing process using the tahona?

The polluted substances and contamination agents in this type of pressing process can come from bacterias that may be hosted on the surface. If the tahona has been pushed by tractors, these may also leave smoke and fuel pollution while they are passing by, contaminating the sensory notes of tequila. Additionally, in this type of process, it is very common that the workers step on the agave fiber with their footwear to move it and continue with the pressing process. If the tahona it's pushed by animals, they may also leave bacterias behind, which contaminates the agave fiber.

Photo by Consejo Regulador del Tequila.

What defects can a contaminated tequila have?

The most common tequila contamination is the one generated by bacteria. Once the polluted juice it's taken to the fermentation process, an inadequate product may be generated with undesired characteristics.

These type of "unwanted" products can, later on, generate notes in the tequila that are considered unpleasant. For example, they may add bitter notes that change the original essence and flavor of the agave. Another consequence is that lactic or acid notes may be added to the product and stay in it during the following stages of fermentation and destillation, being almost impossible to eliminate.

Agave grinding in the mill

Let's remember that in the mill, the pressing process it's done with metal rollers applying force to the agave fiber to extract its juice. By pressing these fibers against the metal, this method may extract bitter notes which are taken as well to the fermentation process and have an impact, creating unpleasant notes in the final product, affecting its flavor at a sensory level.

We can see examples of this in other alcoholic beverages making processes like wine, where using a strong and aggressive pressing process, produces a low-quality wine. We can say that this type of processes bitter the juice and change the expected flavor from the original plant. Let's think about a grapefruit as another example, if it's pressed aggressively, then the juice would taste bitter and may have unpleasant notes.

Disadvantages of the traditional agave pressing process

There are some disadvantages and shortcomings when using the traditional process. We can divide them into the following categories:

• Quality maintenance disadvantages
• Safety disadvantages
• Production disadvantages
• Energy disadvantages
• Equipment maintenance disadvantages

Quality maintenance disadvantages in the traditional process.
Keeping a consistent quality level in the traditional process is way more difficult, starting from the cooking process of the product. By using ovens to cook the agave piña, you can't control where the heat is more concentrated and certain parts of the agave may be overcooked, while others don't. The heat distribution it's not a hundred percent homogeneous, and that is the reason we may obtain certain spots, fibers or pieces of the agave not well cooked, that at the end of the extraction process they generate juices with different quality levels among them.

Safety disadvantages in the traditional process
Using fats and oils which don't belong to the original flavor of the juice, may contaminate the product and change the original flavor of the agave, and as a result, of the tequila.

Production disadvantages in the traditional process
In the traditional process, several benefits are taken from agave sugars because the bagasse residues still contain sugar when they are thrown away with the fibers. On the other hand, by using a gentle extraction process of agave sugar, the agave piña fibers have fewer sugar residues remaining.

Energy disadvantages in the traditional process
The energy power required to operate a mill it's around 40% times higher than the power required by a diffuser, which helps us to save energy and avoid wasting resources.

Equipment maintenance disadvantages in the traditional process
In the case of mills, the equipment wear is more aggressive than the diffuser wear used for a gentle extraction process. Mills constantly require maintenance, because the cylinders impact all the time with the agave fibers, and they often show wear and damage after some time doing the pressing process. This brings higher maintenance costs compared to the ones generated by a diffuser equipment.

Using the most modern processes as the gentle extraction process of agave sugar has fewer disadvantages than the traditional process, offering a product with a constant high quality and wihout sensory defects.

Do you want to know more about the benefits of the gentle extraction process of agave sugar? Read my next articles where I describe this subject in more detail.

•  What is the gentle extraction process of agave sugar?
• Benefits of the gentle extraction process of agave sugar

Come to Casa Sauza yourself and see how with the modernization of our tequila production processes, we have managed to deliver the purest tequila in the industry.