STEVIA PRODUCTION & PRODUCTS
Stevia comes from the leaf of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni also known as Sugar Bush is a herb native to Paraguay. It is grown as an annual on our farm and we generally can take 3 to 6 “cuttings” of our plants in a season for drying. The cuttings are air dried in the barn and then crumbled and cut to fine in a spice mill. The majority is used in our tea blends, what is left is finely ground in a spice mill and offered as a sugar substitute in shaker jars. At the request of customers and NEW for 2012! One package of five personal stevia sweeteners packaged in small paper tea bags to impart flavor but not leave the herbal remains behind!

Stevia sweetens with almost zero calories, does not encourage cavities and is non-glycemic. Stevia has a long history of safe usage in Asia and South America. In its raw leaf form stevia is 10 to 15 times sweeter than cane sugar. White stevia powder is made from a water extraction process and is about three times sweeter than the green powder. Stevia can be used a lot of the places cane sugar is.

NOTE: If you use too much of either the white or green stevia, the taste will be bitter. Because Steve has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.