Aguamiel, which literally translates to honey water, has two meanings in is the agave word. It describes the sap of the agave plant that is harvested in order to drink fresh or ferment into pulque. An incision is made into the piña or heart of a growing agave plant, usually an agave salmiana. This will “injure” the plant and cause it to produce sap. A person will then collect the sap to be immediately consumed or fermented. Aguamiel, and pulque, is considered to be very good for the digestive system and overall health.
In some regions, aguamiel can also refer to the diluted, cooked agave juice that results from the shredding process–whether by canoa, tahona, or mechanical means. The fluid is put into tanks, or tinas, where it garners ambient yeast and ferments to become mosto vivo, or living must. When the fermentation process is complete, you have mosto muerto, which is basically an agave beer that is then distilled into mezcal.
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