Maguey tepeztate (or tepextate) is an Agave marmorata. It produces beautiful quiotes at the end of it’s life that flower a rich yellow before turning to seed. Tepeztate takes as many as 25 years to mature in the wild, and sustainability efforts are needed in order to keep mezcal production of this agave in the future. Despite all odds it seems to flourish best on the sides of steep rocky cliffs. In certain areas of Puebla there is a smaller sub-varietal of the Agave marmorata that grows with lateral white stripes across the pencas. These agave can go by the name pichomel, pichorra, or pizorra depending on location.

Maguey tobala (Agave potatorum) grows wildly at high altitudes and it is often cultivated as well. Its relatively minuscule size yields extremely limited quantities of intensely aromatic mezcal. Due to its tiny size and long growing period (12-15 years), Maguey tobalá is becoming increasingly rare in some regions. Unlike most other maguey, tobala does not produce hijuelos, which are the shoots or pups that sprout around the main plant once it has matured. For this reason, tobala can only grow from seed. Towns like Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca have two different types of Maguey tobala: tobala chino which grows in the sun, and tobala orejon which grows in the shade. This difference in sunlight is amplified over the 12-15 years it takes for the plants to reach maturity, and the two ...