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Mastering the Agave Harvest

Blue Agaves are nurtured along their eight to twelve year growth cycle until they are ripened to perfection. The process starts with planting seedling clones to ensure the consistency and quality of the plants. As the plants mature, the jimadors use a pruning machete to keep the plants growing thick and strong.

The jimadors know when a plant is ready to be harvested when the shank, or the center stalk, reaches a certain length, at which point it is cut. When the leaves stop growing from the center, the jimadors know it is ready for the harvest. The jimadors then cut away the stiff, blue-green leaves using a tool called a coa de jimar to reveal the heart of the plant, or the piña, which ends up looking like a very large pineapple.

The process of extracting the agave from the soil affects the quality of the tequila. “If we cut the agave when it’s more tender—or, when it’s more ripe—we get the aromatic agave notes,” the Casa Dragones Maestro Tequilero explains. This kind of expertise in agriculture and tequila takes many years to master, and is the key to creating the signature taste of Casa Dragones.

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