Stevia
stevia rebaudiana
Asteraceae



AKA
'Bertoni'
Ca-a-e
Ka-ah-eee
Sweet leaf Of Paraguay

CAUTION

Stevia has not been approved as a sweetener
by the FDA for use in the United States.

Stevia rebaudiana 'Bertoni' is a perennial shrub
from the Compositae family and therefore
is related to sunflowers and marigolds.
Its natural compounds, stevioside and rebaudioside A,
can be refined into a powder that is approximately
three hundred times sweeter than sugar,
yet contains practically no calories.

This plant has quite a history.
Stevia leaves, which are estimated to be thirty times
sweeter than sugar but without the calories, have been used
as a sweetener in Paraguay for over
1500 years and in surrounding countries for centuries.
In the late 1960s, the Japanese
developed a procedure for creating a sweetener
out of the refined stevia leaf that was 300 times
sweeter than sugar called stevioside.
Stevioside does not effect blood glucose levels and is an
excellent sweetener for diabetics and hypoglycemics.

Whole leaf extract has a unique sweet-bitter taste
with a licorice aftertaste which disappears quickly.
In the Herbal community, dried stevia leaves are added
as sweeteners to herbal teas and mixes.

Stevia as a crop
The Stevia plant is a perennial.
Mature plants produce two annual harvests in low fertility soil.
Leaves measure from 2 to 3 inches long
and up to 1 inch wide.
When the plant reaches maturity,
it is about 2-3 feet tall.
The yield of twenty pounds of dried leaves leaves
of good quality produces 2 pounds of Stevioside,
the main sweetening principal of the leaf.
For the home gardener, 6-8 plants should provide a years supply
of leaves to dry and add to your tea and herbal blends.
Stevia plant is currently being cultivated in Paraguay, Brazil,
South Korea, Mexico, and the Far East,
which is the largest producer in the world.
All of the production of the Far East,
except for small quantities exported to the USA,
is entirely absorbed by the Japanese
food industry as a food additive.


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