As of May 2019, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and Plants of the World Online recognize around 270 Agave species, as well as a few natural hybrids. This contains species that were previously classified as Manfreda or Polianthes. Different circumscriptions may be used by other sources.
Are there different kinds of agave plants?
You’ll have a lot of options when it comes to finding the perfect plant agave for your environment.
Several dozen agave species are cultivated for agricultural, industrial, landscaping, and household usage, out of more than 200 species.
Some Agave plants are little, potted specimens with sharp terminal ends, while others are giants that will tower over your home once they bloom.
How Tall Do Agave plants Get?
Agaves come in a variety of sizes, depending on the variety. Some plants only reach a height of 18 inches and a spread of 18 to 24 inches. Other agave kinds, such as the century plant, grow to be 6-8 tall with a 10 spread.
On the biggest variety, flower spikes can grow to be as tall as 60 feet tall.
Which agave plant is best?
The best tiny agave for pots is Agave victoriae-reginae. Agaves the size of basketballs make great potted plants. Small agaves, of which there are many, look best when grouped together in a pot. When young, any large species is acceptable in a container.
How many types of blue agave are there?
With over 200 types to pick from, you’re sure to find the right agave species for you. Agaves take decades to flower, but when they do, they generate a massive spike that can reach a height of 20 feet. Keep in mind that when agave plants begin to flower, they begin to die.
Are agave and century plants the same?
Any of numerous Agave species in the asparagus family that is considered a century plant (Asparagaceae). The name is most usually attributed to A. americana, a plant that is grown as an ornamental in many regions and provides the fiber maguey as well as the sweetener “agave nectar.”
Are agave plants expensive?
In 2016, the spiky bluish-green plant whose heart is used to produce tequila cost less than 4 pesos per kg (approximately $0.21). Today, the price per kilo is nearly six times higher, at 23 pesos ($1.26). “Agave prices are cyclical,” says Tequila Avión president Jenna Fagnan.
Do agaves grow in full sun?
Agave thrives in full sun, although it may also take partial shade. Protection from the sun is recommended in very hot, dry areas. The best soil is free-draining soil of any sort, including gravelly or sandy soil. Avoid heavy clay or moist environments, as agave can be killed by being too wet.
How many agave plants are in a acre?
Agaves, like wine grapes, are affected by soil, altitude, and climate, and are planted in rows of 1,000 to 2,000 plants per acre. The jimador (harvester) cuts the root with his sharp coa (similar to a hoe) and then trims away all the leaves until only the heart remains, which resembles a large pineapple, hence the name pina (Spanish for pineapple). At harvest, pinas can weigh anything from 80 to over 300 pounds. A liter of tequila requires approximately 15 pounds of agave heart.
Tequila, like all of the world’s best distilled spirits, is regulated by a complicated web of custom and legislation. Tequila can only be made from Agave Tequilana Weber Azul, or blue agave, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council. It can only be made in the states of Jalisco (where Tequila is located), Nayarit, Michoacan, Guanajuato, and Tamaulipas. There are 200 distilleries in Mexico that produce 700 different tequila labels, all of which are regulated by Mexican law.
Producers are divided: some utilize traditional processes, while others use more efficient modern procedures.
“Some manufacturers make a great thing about their traditional ways, while others take a scientific approach,” Chadwick explains. Chadwick has tried both types in his ten years of investigation. “What matters most is a genuine desire to create exceptional tequila.”
The pinas are boiled at the distillery to convert starches into fermentable sugars. They can be baked in traditional ovens (called hornos) or autoclaves, which are a type of pressure cooker that greatly reduces the cooking time. The cooked hearts are next crushed, either in sophisticated milling machines or with tahonas, to extract their juices (huge grindstones driven by donkeys, which crush the pinas in cobblestoned pits).
Fermentation might take anywhere from six to twelve days. A minimum of 51 percent agave must be present in tequila. Premium products claim to be made entirely of blue agave. However, sugar can be added to so-called mixto tequilas. Yeast is another key option. Some distillers have been using the same yeast strain for 50 years or more, and have carefully maintained it between batches. Others are more interested in commercial cultures.
Tequila oozes from the still-as-clear-as-water bottle. This can be bottled as plata (silver) or blanco (white) tequila after being diluted to final proof. For tequila connoisseurs, platas represent the purest form of the spirit.
Tequilas made from 100 percent blue agave must be distilled and bottled in Mexico by law. Tanker trucks or ships are frequently used to transport Mixto tequilas in bulk. Tequila is exported to over 150 countries, with the United States being the most important market.
Many mixtos are referred to as “young abocado” or “young abocado.” “Caramel coloring is used in “gold” tequilas to give them that golden tint. The term “reposado” refers to a wine that has been aged “Tequilas are aged when they are “rested.” They stay in wood for at least two months and up to a year, generally in enormous redwood tanks. Anejo (Spanish for “anejo”) is a “Tequilas that have been “aged” receive the entire treatment. They are matured for at least a year and up to four years in tiny barrels. Fine anejos are in the same category as Cognac, Scotch, and Bourbon because to their extensive oak age.
Experts disagree on which type is the best. “Silver tequilas have a cleaner, purer flavor, according to Sean Herrick, manager of Atlanta’s Agave restaurant. “However, I find that anejos have greater personality.”
Agave offers 87 different agave-based beverages, which should satisfy even the most discerning palate. “We advocate serving excellent tequilas straight up in a snifter,” Herrick explains. Will his consumers pay $20 for a shot of anejo? “They undoubtedly will. It all comes down to education.”
Mezcal, another agave-based beverage, is gaining popularity among connoisseurs. In the United States, only cheap mezcals were available until recentlyoften with the telltale worm in the bottle. A few artisan-crafted mezcals have made their way to the United States in recent years. These high-quality spirits are made using traditional methods, and fans compare them to the best tequilas. The problem is that even people who are familiar with great tequilas are unfamiliar with mezcal. Mezcal is not related to the psychedelic mescaline or the peyote cactus (agave isn’t even a cactus), contrary to popular belief. Not all mezcals are tequilas, and not all tequilas are mezcals.
Mezcal is manufactured in the same way as tequila, but with a few key changes. Tequila can only be made in specific places, much like Cognac can only be made in the Cognac region of France. The states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas produce some of the best mezcals.
Mezcal is made from about ten different agave species. Mezcal is available in three different ages: blanco, reposado, and anejo. It’s always made entirely with agave nectar, with no additional sugar.
The way the pinas are cooked makes a big difference in mezcal production. Instead of steaming, the agave hearts are baked for three days or more in a stone-lined pit with hot coals. This imparts a smokey flavor to mezcal. In contrast to tequila, which is distilled twice, the spirit is traditionally distilled only once.
Some experts predict a spike in interest in mezcal, while others argue that it is a high-end niche product that will never catch up to tequila’s appeal. When tequila became fashionable in the mid-1990s, several distillers bet on 100 percent blue agave tequila. Overproduction quickly resulted in a scarcity of prime blue agave plants. It will take time for supply to catch up with demand because agave plants take years to grow. Meanwhile, a few producers secretly migrated to mixtos for some of their labels.
How long does it take for a blue agave plant to mature?
Tequila is produced from the agave plant. It takes about 7 years for an agave plant to mature enough to be harvested for tequila.
Is 100% agave the same as 100% blue agave?
Not all mezcal is tequila, and not all tequila is mezcal. Tequila can only be manufactured from agave tequilana (blue agave), but mezcal can be made from over 30 different agave species (AKA maguey). (Agave espading is used to make the majority of mezcals.)
Agave is not a cactus.
Agave is a succulent, not a cactus. Tequila and cacti have nothing to do with each other. Unless you’re sitting next to one, sipping a joven, of course. The agave plant is a succulent that grows in the desert.
Blue agave typically takes eight years to mature.
Agave is difficult to grow, to say the least. The correct desert conditions are required, and even then, most blue agave takes eight years to mature. And that’s only to get you to the harvesting stage. Add some more time to your tequila if you want it to age.
The blue agave plant only has one life to give.
The fact that blue agave is a one-time use plant doesn’t help efficiency. When the agave plants are ready to be harvested, their pias or hearts are ripped out. They’re called that because they end up looking like pineapples. These are the portions of the plant that will be cooked, crushed, and fermented to make tequila.
Tequila is legally required to be only 51% blue agave.
Tequila is created from blue agave, but it does not have to be made entirely from this plant. Many tequilas claim to be made entirely of blue agave, while the legal requirement is 51 percent. The balance of the bottle can be filled with a neutral spirit prepared from cane sugar juice, resulting in a “mixto” tequila. These are, unsurprisingly, believed to be of poorer grade.
Your tequila bottle should not have a worm in it.
There will be no worms in the tequila, FYI. The link between tequila and worms is (possibly) due to the fact that maguey plants are frequently chewed on by “gusano de maguey,” small larvae that, if not interrupted, would develop into a mariposa, a butterfly-like creature. It’s mezcal, not tequila, when they’re inserted into liquor bottles as larvae. So, if there’s a worm in your tequila, don’t drink it. Who knows what else is wrong in the bottle if the maker got that wrong.
Young tequila is really young.
We consume a lot of tequila that is still young. And by aging standards, that’s still rather young: blanco/joven is 0 to 2 months old, reposado is 2 months to 1 year old, and aejo is 1 to 3 years old. There is, however, such a thing called “extra aejo,” which takes tequila maturation to a new level (3 years or more).
You can buy tequila that has been aged for over a decade.
Although three years may seem like a long time to age tequila, one of the oldest “extra aejos” now for sale is 11 years old and costs upwards of $1000. It’s composed entirely of organic blue agave and aged in French oak barrels. A fantastic (really fantastic) present for the tequila connoisseur in your life?
The name tequila carries legal weight around the globe.
Tequila is protected as a Mexican designation of origin in dozens of nations, similar to European Union products with protected names (e.g. Champagne and Prosciutto di Parma). That protection is built into NAFTA in the United States and Canada. So please don’t try to brew tequila in your bathtub.
The Tahona process is as crafty as it gets.
Tequila may be as artisanal as the most artisanal crafty little spirit. Even if it’s made by a major manufacturer. Tequila is manufactured by heating and crushing the gigantic pias, as you may know. The Tahona processbasically dragging a giant volcanic wheel over the cooked agave heartsis one method those pias can (and have) been crushed. Donkeys are still used in some places, according to tradition. We’re not sure anything is more artisan than using a donkey.