Hierve el Agua + Tastes of Oaxaca Mezcal and Mole

🪨 Hierve al agua+Tastes of Oaxaca

Duration:9 hours total                                  8 AM to 5 Pm

4 km / 3 miles Optional guided hike
230 meters elevation gain

Brief description: One day experience  9 Hour Experience in which you´ll have the chance to enjoy Hierve el Agua waterfalls  which are a couple of waterfalls that got petrified and  are something unique in Oaxaca and a must see. You´ll also have the chance to see the Mezcal process and you´ll try Mezcal and  the most famous moles of Oaxaca with a traditional cook with whom You´ll enjoy some of the best moles in Oaxaca.

This Experience takes you to enjoy Hierve el Agua, a Sacred place for the Zapotecs  where you can have one of the most beautiful views in the Valley  Region which you can enjoy without a Rush. Here you´ll have the chance to hike the trail to the bottom of the Mountains or just enjoy the cold Water from the natural pools famous for the minerals that the water contains such as calcium carbonate, iron, silver, and a touch of sulfur  that gives the water (a green light color and a funny smell)  at this Marvelous  place you´ll see how the water  stop running and became rock something  really unique in the world.

Then We are visiting a Mezcal distillery which is called Palenque where Mezcal is produced and Where you´ll have the chance to interact with a Maestro Mezcalero who is going to Explain you alongside us the process of Mezcal elaboration the variants of Magueys, the incredible amount of work and time to produce  a liter of Mezcal and How Mezcal has been part of the locals life. How Mezcal is present in the celebrations:  (Wedding, Birthdays. ) health practices, Family gatherings,etc. of the Oaxacan people. The way mezcal is made is  a proof of the connection of Oaxacan people to what they produce. It all start from going to the fields

 to collect the Agaves hearts  of the Agaves that are fully mature. After taking out the agave´s leaves and  having the hearts collected They are cut into  smaller  pieces that will be put in  a hole covered with hot charcoal for some hours  , which gives Mezcal the smokey distinctive note.  Then  the hearts are chopped and  chopped into small pieces which will be pressed  using  a stone wheel powered by a Donkey slowly  making the fibers softer. This is  a process that is kept largely untouched by modern technology because using this method the producers have to keep an eye on the agave assuring the quality and preserving tradition. The next process is putting the  Agave in wooden tubs with water to ferment for a week. Finally the mix is taken for distillation in a copper still and that is  when one of the  more complex parts of the process occurs.  The mezcal comes out  in three parts one is the head which alcohol  content is above 65% and which can not  be used for Mezcal  but is good to use as barn and a cleaner the second part known as the  body  is what a Maestro Mezcalero is looking to get since its´s the part of the distillation used for Mezcal.  Being a Maestro mezcalero is something that is learned on the job and  is a well respected Job at a community  which knowledge  and methods are  passed on generations most of which are empiric and do not lean on modern tools to measure the alcohol levels so they have to be really skillful and constantly  check the product to obtain good Mezcal.

One of the methods that they use to do the distillation process is to pour a little bit of the product in a container slowly and if  it makes bubbles they have  Drink with appropriate levels of alcohol to be Mezcal.

After the complete explanation about the Mezcal process We’ll have the Mezcal taste when the different varieties of Mezcal will be presented to you. Each agave has unique characteristics.

The last part of the experience is a visit to a traditional cook restaurant where  most of the Moles will be presented to you for you taste: Moles are  complex dishes thick sauces made with a lot of ingredients as  Bread, Dry Chilis, almonds, clove etc, which preparation can take hours and which ingredient balance need to be perfect and need a cook with years of Experience to master since there is salty, sweet and spicy  notes in the Moles and is really easy to overpower the dish with one flavor. You´ll have the chance to eat the Mole that you´ll like the most from the tasting. after that We´ll return to the city of Oaxaca