Stevia, does it taste good? O.o

[amont009]

I'm already planning for next season and really want a stevia plant. I'm a little skeptical because I've heard it has an awful aftertaste. I've had the powdered form of this plant and wasn't too fond of it. I figured the plant version of it, rather the leaves, would taste better than all the chemical processing it goes through to make it a powder. I was wondering if anyone can give me their first hand experience with stevia leaves. If it has a bitter or funny after taste then I'm better off just limiting my sugar intake.

Thanks a lot.

[CharlieBear]

I have some growing in pots. I personally wouldn't eat the leaves by themselves. It is an ok addition to herbal tea blends, that you can't quite take without any sweetening. By the way fresh is kind of like the difference between using fresh mint leaves and dried ones to make tea out of.
Also, some countries have outlawed it as a sweetener, the UK is one I believe. I have been watching this with some interest.
By the way, all sweeteners have an after taste. I think Sugar is gross myself, but most people are used to it. Aspartame, succralose, honey all have aftertastes that some find revolting.
Note also unprocesses the leaves are really all that useful except in tea etc.

[Kisal]

I find the taste of Stevia utterly abhorrent, but some people seem to like the stuff. JMO.

[amont009]

I have some growing in pots. I personally wouldn't eat the leaves by themselves. It is an ok addition to herbal tea blends, that you can't quite take without any sweetening. By the way fresh is kind of like the difference between using fresh mint leaves and dried ones to make tea out of.
Also, some countries have outlawed it as a sweetener, the UK is one I believe. I have been watching this with some interest.
By the way, all sweeteners have an after taste. I think Sugar is gross myself, but most people are used to it. Aspartame, succralose, honey all have aftertastes that some find revolting.
Note also unprocesses the leaves are really all that useful except in tea etc.

I primarily want to use it for tea. I love tea and depending on the type of tea it does need some sort of sweetener. And your right, most sweeteners do have an after taste and I've grown used to most of them. I wanted to see if anyone knows how to use the leaves as substitutes for baked goods and other dishes that usually call for some kind of sweetness. If worse comes to worse though I could just use it for tea. I drink a lot of tea, so that stevia plant will be put to good use. lol.

Thanks for the input CharlieBear.

[jeff57]

I guess I'm the wierdo here. I love the taste of stevia leaves. I wouldn't sit and eat a bunch of them but a few here and there are great. They have a green leafy taste but an extremely sweet aftertaste. I'm not a fan of eating sweets but will gladly grab a few leaves here and there off of my plants.

[lorax]

If you're going to use them for tea, Amont, you'll want to dredge up the other Stevia thread and have a look at it. Stevia produces some icky bitter alkaloids when exposed to boiling water, but doesn't produce them with only hot water - and that can explain a lot of peoples' reactions to it in hot drinks.

[Tilde]

I love the leaves directly. However, it's not practical for long term storage - what about making a simple syrup with them and sweetening that way?

Even if it ends up not working, you have a nice skinny plant with bitty white flowers to enjoy looking at.

[applestar]

...the other Stevia thread
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29379

[DeborahL]

A strange thing-one time I had some really bad heartburn while driving.
No Tums in my purse. I had just bought my first stevia plant. I pinched off and ate a couple of leaves, continued on my errands and to my amazement suddenly noticed that the heartburn was gone !