the 1st Stevioside purchase

stevioside questions

You heard about stevioside. Maybe you were told about it by a friend who is following a low carb diet, or you heard about diabetics , or people with candida using stevioside. Maybe you saw some low carbohydrate diet stevioside recipes. You are ready to take the sweetest step in your life. You know it is safe. You want to go ahead. But you stop......

You ask yourself

"Will I like stevioside?"

" I heard some stevioside tastes bitter, or grassy, or has a licorice taste."

"I wonder if it will work in my coffee"

"Where can I find recipes?"

"Should I buy white stevia powder form or liquid?"

"How does it compare with aspartame?"

Don't Get Taken

One thing you definitely do not want to do is throw away money. There is a lot of substandard stevioside product in the market. There are also a lot of scammers and their shills passing off altered product as high quality. Everyone seems to shade the truth preaching why theirs is "the Best". It is very hard to figure out what to believe so you don't get taken. Being a novice what should you look for?

There is a lot of confusion about stevia. It is a plant. It is not white powder, it is not a liquid. It is simply a plant. So when someone sells a bottle of white powder and calls it stevia, they are adding to the noisy din of confusion. The stevia leaf is either green or brownish in color. It can be used either whole or cut or chopped up. It can be used either dried (like leaves in autumn), or fresh. Stevia is a lot cheaper than the stevia extract known as Stevioside. The best quality stevioside is a very light white color powder that is almost like a fine dust.

Like coffee, grades of plants grown fall into differing grades. The top grade is the rarest, and most expensive. There is very little of it produced in the world it is not generally available commercially. The next grade is also rare, but not as rare as the top grade. It is expensive to grow as it has a longer growing time, and requires more care. The most popular is low grade. This grows like a weed, fast and big. Unfortunately, it also has the poorest taste qualities of the three. It is known for it's bitterness, grassiness, and licorice taste. It does not produce good quality stevioside, (the extract of the plant). But almost every company selling stevia and/or stevioside sells low grade. Even if they are not aware of it. This is because they do not know what to ask, or they are buying strictly on price. They then charge you premium prices.

So now you know why some plants produce a bitter, licorice, grassy taste while others produce a clean taste. Stevioside has various grades as well. To be considered pure it must have a minimum of 90% stevioside compound (generally referred to as steviosides). So if you see someone selling a product they claim is pure but they label it as "Guaranteed to have 85% minimum...." you know they do not know what they are talking about, or they are trying to deceive you.

It is true that the higher % of stevioside the better the taste. However, if you took 95% extract of top grade plants and 95% extract of the next grade plants you would notice a very slight difference. If the processing methods, and parts of the plants were identical. Because the processing method, and parts of the plants used also directly contribute to the taste. For example the stems regardless of the grade of plant will have a very bitter, licorice taste. The veins in the leaf will also have a bitter, grassy, licorice taste. The leaf canvas, does have a grassy taste. This goes for any grade.

Now, if you compared 95% extract of a higher grade plant to 95% extract of the low grade you would notice a very big difference. Even IF the extraction method was identical. If you had high grade 95% against high grade 90% there would be a big difference in taste. The 95% would be better tasting, with no grassy, licorice, or bitter taste (again depending on the processing and parts of the plant used). Finally, the % of the steviosides in the stevioside compound have a direct bearing on the taste qualities.

Scams to avoid

Powder vs Liquid

Generally the liquid stevia (stevioside) is white stevia powder blended into either water, or glycerin, and sometimes even alcohol is added. Some companies label this liquid as "Liquid stevia", or "Stevioside liquid". They make huge profits by doing this, and you are buying mostly water. Why pay someone to reconstitute, no that is not the right word. Dilute.... is a little closer I think. Why pay someone a lot of money to sell you water with a very low % of stevioside in it? Maybe product that was adulterated with other matter. Maybe added carbohydrates. Buy the powder, it is cheaper. If you really want the liquid, mix it yourself. Just make a concentrate and use 1-3 drops as necessary.

Adulterated VS Pure

Lately it has become a fashion to sell "Spoonable Stevia" even sold as "Made with pure stevia", or there is a stevia crystal, or stevia blend, all of these are stevioside that is diluted, cut, and adulterated. Companies selling this are trying to fool people genuinely looking for answers. People coming to them for advise. These companies actually come out with statements like "Stevia has a taste that is to strong for most people so we mixed maltodextrin in".

Hey! I Thought There Are No Carbohydrates in Stevioside.

Pure stevioside is carbohydrate free. Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate made of rice or corn. Why add carbohydrates. You can not use it in a low carbohydrate lifestyle. Actually, if they used better more expensive plants rather than the low grade and did not process the stems, (which are far lower in  cost) they would not need to do anything to alter the taste, or hide the bitterness, grassiness, or licorice after taste.

Some companies even add silica....SILICA????? Yeah, that's right. Silica is dangerous if consumed in quantity. It weighs a lot more than stevioside does. Do you really want to eat silica? I sure don't. I care what I put in my body.

It is really best to look for a pure (92% or better) that has nothing added. Once you find that buy a small bottle and see if you like it. For example, you can buy a 15 grams shake top bottle of pure Stevioside from Emperors Herbologist for 8.95 + postage. It is 95% minimum stevioside compound. Emperor's Herbologist also sells it in bulk.

Order your Stevia or Stevioside on line today!