I use 1 tsp to sweeten 2 Quarts/Liters (1/2 Gallon) of liquid. Some use less...But, I prefer my drinks strong. The little scooper included with the KAL Extract is 1/32 tsp if I remember correctly. I would probably use 1/16-1/8 tsp (2-4 little scoopers) to sweeten an 8 oz. Beverage. You can also try 1 little scoop, taste, add another, taste...until you reach desired sweetness.

Sweet10 and Sweet-n-Low are saccharine. I get either/or in liquid, no carb form. I can double-chack the box, but I'm sure Sugar Twin is also saccharine.

I bought Stevia and found it a little bitter, but I have been using it sporadically, putting it in my tea (i have to have a little sweet in my tea with cream), and mixing some in my ricotta puddings. Guess what?? I have been getting used to it. So does anyone know about this product? I didn't do enough research, except to know that Drs. Eades recommend it, so it must be good.

Stevia is a natural herb from South America. It has been safely used by the Guarini Indians for thousands of years. It has been safely used in the US for 100+ years. It is the #1 sweetener in Japan, surpassing even Sugar. The stuff is perfectly safe...and may even be beneficial.

Thanks cc - that's great information!

Hey People,

I am looking into Stevia and have found some info on it.
www.wholefoods.com/healthinfo/stevia.html
I've also found a place to buy it online. I was wondering if
anyone else might use this source or if anyone might know
if the prices are reasonable.
I hope someone finds this useful.
www.healthyshopping.com/sweetleaf/

I have been using Splenda most of the time, but decided to try Stevia last week. Purchased a box of 50 packets for $7.49 at my local pharmacy. Not sure about the prices in health food/nutrition stores. It seems a little more bitter than Splenda, though. I ran across an article online that ranked Splenda in the same danger zone as saccharin and aspartame for causing health problems, especially cancer. I don't know how true it is, but it made me look for an alternative. Just wish Stevia wasn't so expensive.

My local HFS had it for $8.95 / 100 packets.

mental note: get some Stevia tomorrow.

I've been using about 6 packets of Splenda a day in Coffee.. the carbs add up fast.. I need to try this Stevia...

Guess I'll dig out a bunch of the other posts on Stevia (the SEARCH feature is really handy) and merge them here.

..... here goes.

Is there any brand of Stevia that has less of the liquorish taste? I am one of those people who absolutely detest liquorish and haveing bought three boxes of Stevia from New York to the UK I really would like to use them so could anyone recommend any types of recipes that would mask the taste?

By the way, just for a laugh, my first experience with Stevia was with the powdered whole leaf (green) and I decided to make a baked egg custard (Atkins Flan I think you call it). I will leave the finished result to your imaginations. Ick!

Well, I ordered some from the links I gave in post 66 of this thread. I have to say that I will not be using anthing but stevia now. I still don't know if the prices are great here[$20.00/4.0oz bottle](1200servings). But this product is not bitter at all. Unlike the first stevia brand I bought.
[stevita brand]

Ya know what's good......Stevia clear in your water.
No aftertaste at all....taste like fruit20.

Anyone notice an aftertaste if used in hot stuff like
coffee?
I do....unless I put it in the coffee before I heat it up.

I use the liquid Stevia in unsweetened kool-aid and its great, 1 tsp = 1 cup of sugar and dont use more as it is very sweet and too much will leave an aftertaste.

The kool-aid can then be used as a drink, for ice pops or as a mixer.

I knew that the FDA had used a study showing it might have a contraceptive effect to blackball it...But, until that link I didn't know how the study was conducted. Aspartame killed one of the Monkeys in its studies and gave the other 6 Seizures, yet it was approved. Stevia kept one rat from getting Pregnant and it was banned. Now, you can't tell me there's no graft going on there.

Also, the FDA seems to miss this:

US Population -- 290,342,554

48.5% are male, which would be approximately: 140,816,139 men. Since men can't get pregnant anyways, we can deduct them from the susceptible population. We can also deduct those under 14, since they probably should not be getting pregant anyways. We should also deduct those over 65, since they are almost certainly post-menopausal and cannot become pregant. That leaves 97,061,559 women between 14 and 65. Even a substantial percentage of those Women would likely be past their baby-bearing years or otherwise infertile. On top of that many of the remainder are likely not trying to conceive at this point in time anyways. That means upwards of 75%, probably closer to 90% of the people in this country aren't having children right now. Figure a 14% contraceptive rate and that means <3.5%, probably as low as 1.4% of the population would be effected. That would reduce the birth rate from 14.1 per 1,000 to 13.9 per 1,000, which is still 3 per 1,000 higher than the birth rate in England; 1.5 per 1,000 higher than France; etc..Basically, our birth rate would still be higher than most of the rest of the FIRST world...and that is assuming that everyone consumed Stevia. Even if the claim [of a contraceptive effect] were true [which it isn't,] we could simply advise women seeking to conceive to avoid it...and it would have no effect on the birth rate.