US-12618029-B2 - Method for producing agave cultures for tequila

US12618029B2US 12618029 B2US12618029 B2US 12618029B2US-12618029-B2

Abstract

A method to expedite the growth of the agave plant by growing the plant tissue from a cell culture in a laboratory utilize incubator cells that are taken from the leaf of an agave plant and grown in a medium containing all the nutrients required for the production of new cells and the maturation of those new cells. The cells are then exposed to photosynthetic active radiation and fed with extra carbon dioxide, causing the cells to undergo photosynthesis and form the sugars that are found in a naturally growing agave plant. These cultivated cells are given an optimum amount of light and carbon dioxide to promote an unexpected and substantially higher growth rate than heretofore achieved.

Inventors

Peter Andrew Whitton
John R. Munoz
Geoffrey Dixon

Assignees

Peter Andrew Whitton
John R. Munoz
Geoffrey Dixon

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231207

Claims (1)

1 . A method for cultivating sugar cells, comprising: (a) preparing a callus induction media including a sugar, naphthalene acetic acid, and water; (b) placing sugar cane leaf cells into the callus induction media to incubate a callus formation; (c) establishing a mixture by placing the callus formation into an accelerator media comprising a sugar, naphthalene acetic acid, and water; (d) heating the mixture of (c); (e) using cultures obtained from the mixture to cultivate subcultures from the accelerator media, and supplementing the subcultures in the accelerator media with an acid; and (f) adding carbon dioxide and yeast; wherein sugar cells reproduce and are cultivated from the accelerator media.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application a Continuation-In-Part based on U.S. Ser. No. 17/853,163, filed Jun. 29, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/312,789, filed Feb. 22, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND The present invention is directed to the production of tequila, and more directly to a method of tequila production that provides an alternative to the customary twelve year period required for an agave plant to mature. Tequila is a distilled spirit commonly made from the Weber blue agave plant. The Weber blue agave plant, or agave tequilana, is a large succulent with long, spiked leaves similar to the aloe vera plant. Within the core of the blue agave plant is a bulb called the piña. To distill tequila, this bulb is baked and juiced, and the juice is fermented with yeast in barrels to make tequila. Tequila is a popular spirit used in many different cocktails, like the Margarita, Paloma, and the Tequila Sunrise. Traditional tequila is manufactured as follows. 1. Harvest the agave. Modern tequila production begins with the traditional method of harvesting the blue agave plant. A special knife called a coa is used to cut the leaves on the agave plant away from the underground piña bulb.2. Bake the agave core, or the piña. The piña bulb must be baked in order to extract its fermentable sugars. Traditionally, piñas were baked in pits lined with rocks, but today, they're baked in either clay and brick ovens called hornos, or large stainless steel ovens.3. Shred the piña and extract the agave juice. After the piñas are baked, they are crushed and shredded to extract the sweet juice inside, which is called mosto. Mosto is extracted in one of two ways: by using an industrial mechanical shredder (the most common modern way), or by the traditional method of using a tahona, a large stone wheel that crushes and juices the piña.4. Ferment the agave juice, or mosto. Next, the mosto must ferment into ethyl alcohol in order to become a spirit. The mosto is combined with yeast and water in large fermentation tanks. This process uses either large stainless steel tanks, or large wooden barrels.5. Distill the fermented mosto. The agave juices are then distilled, which purifies the liquid and concentrates the alcohol in the mixture. Tequila is typically distilled twice. The first distillation produces a cloudy liquid called the ordinario. The second distillation produces the clear silver tequila, which is then ready to be aged and bottled.6. Age the tequila. All tequila is aged for at least 14 to 21 days. Silver or blanco tequila is aged for the minimum time. Aged tequila comes in three types: reposado (“rested,” aged for two months to one year), añejo (“aged,” aged for one to three years), and extra añejo (aged for over three years). To produce a more aged tequila, the distilled blanco is put into aged oak barrels, which gives the tequila a golden color. There is also a fifth kind of tequila called joven (“young”) or oro (“gold”), which is a mix of silver tequila and reposado tequila. The Mexican government strictly regulates the production of the agave plant, which by law is limited to certain states of Mexico including Jalisco, Nayarit, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Tamaulipas. In addition, it takes twelve years for the agave plant to grow large enough to be cultivated for the production of tequila. The combination of these two limitations, along with the boom in tequila sales and the influx of new tequila makers has led to a severe shortage of the agave plant. Today the production of agave falls far short of demand, and the situation is expect to get worse in the near future. Of these issues, the twelve year incubation period of the plant has the biggest effect in the shortage of the agave plant. Heretofore, the only way to obtain the necessary sugars and ingredients was to wait the twelve years for the plant to mature. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a method to expedite the growth of the agave plant by growing the plant tissue from a cell culture in a laboratory. A novel method has been developed that permits the cells to grow quickly without ever having to be part of the plant. Incubator cells are taken from the leaf of an agave plant and grown in a medium containing all the nutrients required for the production of new cells and the maturation of those new cells. The cells are then exposed to photosynthetic active radiation and fed with extra carbon dioxide, causing the cells to undergo photosynthesis and form the sugars that are found in a naturally growing agave plant. These cultivated cells are given an optimum amount of light and carbon dioxide to promote an unexpected and substantially higher growth rate than heretofore achieved. Once the culture has matured and sufficient sugars have been produced, e.g., the media solution is around 8% sugar, then yeast is added and the entire media