A Study of the Agave Plant Essay

Although thought to be mostly a coarse drink made from the Mexicanor Blue Agave plant, tequila and other products of the agave plant have amajor economic impact on Mexico and are used in many applicationsthroughout the world. The agave plant has been used in Mexico for thousandsof years but the distillation process used to make tequila was brought tothe Aztecs by the Spaniards in the fifteenth century. The Agave plant is actually a very slow growing plant and it isreported to only flower once or twice every three or four years inexcellent conditions and as few as five times in a hundred years in poorconditions. Poor weather can result in no production for a period ofseveral years. However the plant itself is very resilient and can survivein very hostile low water conditions.The agave's flowers however may reach up to 20 ft. and grow veryrapidly. The plant is harvested by cutting of the top of the flower shootand collecting the sap. One plant may yield as much as 1000 liters of sapin optimal conditions. This is the pulgue sap that is fermented to makemescal (the national drink of Mexico) and later distilled twice and aged tomake tequila. Some of the other products that are made with the sap include soap,tortilla flavoring, a chemical for stunning fish, a vitamin mixture forlivestock, and a chemical to enhance the whiteness of the pulp in papermaking. Agave is actually a monocot in the Sisal Family, Agavacae. Thereare 12 genera and 400 species that make all sorts of products from sisalhemp (rope like fiber) to medicines and drinks such as tequila and mescal.They are flowering plants that have rosettes of large succulent leaves andshort spines. Most plants are found in tropical and subtropical regions andparticularly in arid areas.Tequila is the product of agave we are going to concentrate on themost here. The drink, named for the town of Tequila in the state...

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