Tequila Flavor Infusion Using Agave Heart Extracts

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Solution Overview

Problem

Standard tequila beverages lack enhanced flavor and aroma components, making them less desirable to consumers, and existing production methods do not effectively incorporate additional compounds to improve their taste and quality.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating compounds extracted from agave hearts, particularly blue agave hearts, into tequila through infusion methods, such as using steamed and chopped agave hearts in tea-bag-like containers to infuse flavor and aroma into the beverage, along with filtration to optimize the concentration and quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If standard tequila production methods are used, then the beverage maintains traditional authenticity, but the flavor and aroma components are insufficient to meet consumer preferences

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveflavor and aroma componentsVSAvoidproduction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-cooking and extracting compounds from agave hearts before adding them to the tequila. The extraction process prepares the flavor and aroma components in advance, which are then incorporated into the final beverage, thereby enhancing flavor without complicating the main production流程

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the concentration parameter of flavor and aroma components by adding extracted compounds from agave hearts to the standard tequila. This increases the quantity of desirable flavor compounds while maintaining the base tequila formulation, resolving the contradiction between sufficient flavor and production simplicity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Quantity of substance

If additional flavor compounds are added to enhance taste, then consumer desirability improves, but the beverage deviates from traditional composition

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveflavor and aroma componentsVSAvoidtraditional composition integrity
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses homogeneity by extracting compounds from the same blue agave plant material that is already present in the tequila production. This ensures that the added flavor compounds are chemically similar to the existing composition, maintaining overall compositional consistency while enhancing flavor profile

Inventive Principle:
Principle #33Homogeneity

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite beverage by combining standard tequila with extracted agave heart compounds. The final product integrates multiple components (base tequila + extracted flavor compounds) into a unified enhanced tequila that maintains traditional character while improving flavor attributes

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Results in an enhanced tequila beverage with improved flavor and aroma attributes, as subjectively determined by human tasters, meeting consumer preferences and regulatory standards, while maintaining the authenticity of traditional tequila production.

Implementation Method 1

The hearts are then cooked to hydrolyze the inulin to fermentable sugars

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSteaming: Heating

Implementation Method 2

The sugars from the cooked hearts are then converted by fermentation by yeast to produce alcohol (ethanol)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFermentation: Fermentation

Implementation Method 3

The alcohol is distilled to provide tequila

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDistillation: Distillation

Implementation Method 4

One way in which to produce such enhanced tequila is by incorporation compounds extracted from agave hearts, especially blue agave hearts, into tequila, for example by infusion of extracts from cooked agave hearts into tequila

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectInfusion: Absorption (physical)

Data Source

PatentUS10106764B2Tequila
Publication Date: 2018.10.23 LOS ALTOS LTD

AI summary

A tequila beverage comprising a standard tequila beverage containing added components for making said standard tequila beverage more desirable to a consumer.