Liquor
How the Tequila Boom Could Go Bust
Volatile prices, high expenses and the agave plant’s seven-year growth cycle are driving farmers out of business.
The world just can’t seem to get enough tequila.
It takes about seven years to grow a blue agave plant, the spirit’s prized ingredient. Once mature, tequila makers have to extract the “pina,” or heart, so it can be heated, crushed, fermented, distilled and finally bottled and sold by your local mixologist as part of a trendy cocktail.