Organic 100% Pure Stevia Powder, 4 oz, Satisfies Sweet Cravings, Lowers Blood Sugar Levels for Diabetics, Bulk Powdered Stevia Extract Sweetener for Better Baking & Beverages, 800+ Servings by NatriSweet

I apologize for the length of this review but I have tried to use headings to allow you to quickly find the information that is most useful to you:SHIPPING AND PACKAGING:My order of NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder 4 oz (113g) arrived one day ahead of schedule to my surprise. Product arrived in a standard, bubble-wrap style shipping pouch and was further covered in a recycled plastic seal to prevent dust or other contaminants from coming into contact with the product. All prudent measures in my view.PRODUCT OVERVIEW:NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder 4 oz (113g) is just as advertised, a 4oz sealed and resealable plastic pouch containing finely powdered stevia extract. My first impression was that this was a smaller quantity than expected (although it is clearly marked) and I thought it might be intended as a sample size or introductory size but I could not be more wrong—this stuff is POWERFUL. If you are not careful about how much you use, this product may be TOO POWERFUL and may be described as bitter or having a chemical flavor.NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder is not only pure stevia but a concentrated form that consists of 90% Steviosides which are the source of stevia’s sweetness. The product description states that 90% is the perfect amount to maximize sweetness without risking bitterness in the flavor. I dipped a finger in the powder and put the finger directly in my mouth—BIG MISTAKE! It wasn’t just sweet; it was too sweet and overwhelmed the sweetness receptors of my taste buds causing me to focus instead on the other flavor characteristics of stevia which are similar to licorice. After the initial reaction subsided, the intense sweetness took over and remained until I rinsed it away. I knew that stevia could be intense from previous experience but this stuff takes it to a whole new level.If you are looking to find a healthy sugar substitute or sweetener, this may be the product for you. I have Type 2 diabetes so I must limit my sugar and carbohydrate intake in order to maintain a healthy blood glucose level. Stevia is non-caloric because, like most artificial sweeteners, the human body does not metabolize the stevia compounds used in this product. Furthermore, stevia is known to improve insulin effectiveness leading to healthier blood glucose levels. Whether you are looking for healthy alternative to sweeten your morning coffee or afternoon iced tea or you need a 100% natural, organic sweetener for cooking, I recommend NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder on the condition that you use it carefully and do not exceed the amounts specified on the product label. For my purposes, I rarely use even the recommended amounts and still find it to be abundantly sweet. Stevia is not right for everyone nor is it the best sweetener for every purpose but it is an effective and 100% natural sugar replacement that is healthier than most alternatives.PROS:1 - NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder is intensely concentrated! While a double-edged sword, the concentration of this product means that you need use only a very small amount to sweeten foods and beverages but using too much can be problematic. The product label provides a conversion chart but I recommend starting with less and adding more as needed.2 – 100% Natural product! NatriSweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder has only one ingredient: stevia. It is a natural, organic, Vegan, Non-GMO, Chemical Free, Sugar Free, and Gluten Free sugar substitute consisting of pure stevia powder that is more healthy than artificial sweeteners and has even been shown to be beneficial to those with Type 2 Diabetes.3 – Great Price! Due to the extreme sweetness of stevia and the highly concentrated nature of this product, you will only need to use a TINY AMOUNT at a time. This means that a single order may last weeks if not months depending on you need for sweeteners.CONS:1 – Risk of bitterness. The high concentration of this product increases the risk for people to experience bitterness. To clear, the sweetness of stevia tends to occur to our taste buds more slowly than the faint licorice aftertaste that can be present for some individuals when it is used in higher concentrations. This is the reason that I had such a strong reaction to my first taste of the product—it was the equivalent of taking half a cup of sugar all at once. While this is a certainty for people that use the product incorrectly, the risk of bitterness is inherent to nearly all stevia products when then are used incorrectly.2 – Stevia is not sugar. Because stevia is different than sugar, it takes time for people to adjust to this fact and use stevia correctly in the preparation of foods and beverages. If you have not used stevia in the past, you will need to learn how to use it in your food and beverage preparations. This is less a CON than it is a caution and it is not unique to this or any stevia product.A WORD ABOUT BITTERNESS AND STEVIAI saw a number of reviewers that have commented about this product being bitter or having a chemical flavor. I encourage you to disregard those comments as these individuals have obviously not used stevia before or did not follow label for a proper conversion table. To be clear, you almost certainly WILL experience a bitter flavor that is similar to licorice if you use high concentrations of this product but that is the case with nearly EVERY stevia product. That is like complaining of the peppery burning sensation on your tongue when you drink a bottle of hot sauce. Everyone experiences flavor differently so I encourage you to begin with a very small amount (less than you think you will be able to perceive) and then increase as needed. Some people do not experience the aftertaste of stevia even at higher concentrations but most people experience the extreme sweetness of stevia. Stevia’s sweetness is often slow to be perceived. This means that you may have food or beverages in your mouth for a moment before the sweetness is apparent but the aftertaste might present itself immediately. I recommend that you experiment before you use stevia in food and beverages to find the amount that is effective for you.I hope that you find this information to be useful.

This is 100% real Steva powder. So sweet I only need 1/8 teaspoon for my coffee. Beware supermarket Stevia…I bought Publix Stevia and found it’s primarily erythritol, and dextrose with maltodextrin…”stevia extract”(not the same as pure stevia) was the third listed ingredient.

Natrisweet 100% Pure Stevia PowderRating: 5/5 (excellent)Skip to the bottom for my recipe for Liquid Stevia Extract, otherwise stick around for some brief soapboxing on ingredients and strength.Still here ? Good. Ah, the "diabetic friendly" sugar substitute follies. So rife with misinformation, corporate gre3d, and flat out corrupti0n. For the sake of brevity, i'll limit this to just the 2 main types of powdered stevia. The first is bad, the second is good.First (bad), and by far the most common, are versions that use Dextrose and/or Maltodextrine as extenders and bulking agents .. this includes brands like Equal, Splenda, Sucralose, and Compliments Stevia Powder. The most common strengths hover in the vicinity of 8:1 by weight (meaning 8 grams sugar substitutes as 1 gram sucralose), and if they say "substitutes like sugar" they're formulated to be 1:1 by volume (i.e., 1 tsp sugar = 1 tsp sucralose).Second (good) are versions that are 100% PURE STEVIA. For non-diabetics, the chief difference is in taste and strength, but for people with diabetes (type 1 or 2) I highly recommend avoiding the former. Yes, stevia has a slighlty bitter after taste, but unlike dextrose and maltodextrine it does NOT raise blood glucose. Anyway, Natrisweet, because its not bulked up with dextrose and dextrines, is STRONGER ... 32:1 (32x stronger than sugar) by both weight and volume. That's 32÷8 = 4x stronger than Compliment Stevia Powder by weight, and it's 32x less bulky.Let's back up to the bad stuff for a moment, because understanding this is an important public service for my fellow diabetics. Feel free to google this yourself via reputable sites - you dont need to take my word on it. DEXTROSE and MALTODEXTRINE are both sweeteners derived from GMO Corn. Welcome to the corrupt big food industry (monsanto/corn being the biggest), whose only loyalty is to $$$$. Newsflash: NEITHER sweetener is a zero calorie sweetener, and BOTH raise blood sugar faster than surcrose. Yes, read that again. Heck, dextrose is used in emergency rooms to treat hypoglycemia. So why are both everywhere in supposedly diabetic friendly zero calorie sweeteners ? Take your pick: corporate gre3d, corrup1 manipulation of FDA labeling laws, lobbying agencies, et al. They use every trick in the book to get their product into everything - like pairing conveniently minute portion sizes with the use of rounding to the nearest integer in order to earn a wholly mis1eading "zero calories", even though if you scale it back up to practical usage levels it becomes scandalous1y NONZERO. Oh, it gets worse. Take "sugar alcohol" - some forms of sugar are allowed to be listed as "sugar alcohol", just so they can be listed as a separate line item from sugar, which in turn enables them to conveniently evade the designation as an "added sugar", even though it is indeed a FORM OF SUGAR and in many cases raises blood glucose. You cant make this stuff up.The bottom line is this: If you're diabetic, do your reading, and always read the ingredients list on EVERYTHING. For sweeteners, if you see either dextrose or maltodexteine, or anything else conveniently listed as (for example) "sugar alcohol", AVOID IT. Stick with high quality PURE stevia, and brands of it that are reasonably priced ... like this one.All that being said, I do have 2 caveats about pure stevia to be aware of, regardless of brand - they are not complaints but rather characteristics of this sweetener. First is that it's not recommended for baking use, because it tends to denature under prolonged high heat, and it can throw off recipes that require both the bulk and browning of actual sugar. Second, pure powder is highly concentrated, and tends to be 'poofy' like corn starch, so I find it much easier and less messy to measure and work with in liquid form, which is why i included a recipe for liquid drops.--------Strong & Easy Liquid Stevia Drops, 60 proof (usage: 3-4 drops per cup of coffee)IMPROVED VERSIONComment: I developed this by direct trial and error. My initial water based version developed a flor after 2 weeks, so I've since switched to lightly diluted white rum, which is shelf stable and dissolves the stevia a bit faster.INGREDIENTS (yeilds approx 1.5 fl oz)2 tbsp White Rum2 tbsp Natrisweet 100% Pure Stevia Powder1-2 tsp WaterDirections:1) In a standard 3 fl oz clean empty spice bottle, use a small funnel to combine all 3 ingredients. Close snugly.2) Shake vigorously for 60 sec. Some cloudiness will persist, initially. Let stand for 3 mins. Repeat the shake & stand a 2nd time, after which it should be crystal clear.3) Transfer the extract to a standard brown glass 2 fl oz eye dropper bottle, and store in a cool dark place.4) NOTE: A milky hazy will slowly begin to appear after a few weeks. This is NOT a flor, it is the stevia recrystalizing ... easily fixed. Simply fill a small mug with HOT water, loosen the lid of the extract bottle, and let it sit in the hot water for 5-10 mins, and it will re-clarify. Good as new. :-)UPDATE (Oct 2022) Water based version replaced by rum based version.UPDATE (May 2023) Re-clarification tip added.

I have enjoyed using this stevia powder for coffee sweetener, and have even employed it in other places (sprinkled a bit w/ some ground ginger powder into a bowl of raspberries and tossed- delicious). If you're looking for a natural sweetener to replace sugar, this is one of- if not THE, healthiest choices.That said, be aware if you've never used stevia before; you need FAR less stevia than sugar for sweetening. If you try to use stevia in the same amounts that you use sugar, you're gonna have a bad time. Too much makes a very bitter flavor with a slight undertone of sweetness. 1/4 teaspoon of stevia per teaspoon of sugar that you would use, at most, is my recommendation, but you'll likely need to try varying amounts to find your sweet spot. Pun intended.

I was excited to use this in canning blackberries. The thought of getting the sweetness with a very low calorie count was appealing to me. When tasting it after canning, the aftertaste was so bad. It ruined the 6 pints of blackberries that I canned.Very disappointed with this product!

If you use Stevia this is a huge savings instead of buying the options at your grocery store. I mostly only use this for my coffee and this package lasted for 2 years!