Is Your Stevia Real?
Today I want to expand a little on a post I did 6 months ago. In this video, featured below, I show you how to make your own pure stevia and liquid stevia. Making and growing your own stevia is very simple. You can save a lot of money by making your own stevia and take comfort in knowing that this is the “real” thing and not the fake stevia that is all over our markets today!
Since stevia has taken off in the health food markets, a lot of fake and un pure stevia has shown up on the shelves. A clear example would be Truvia made by the Coca Cola Company. It is made to taste like sugar and look like sugar to sell like sugar.
Stevia is not supposed to taste like sugar and a true stevia is actually green, not white. Stevia has a very sweet taste, yes, but if you use too much it can quickly become bitter.
Does Your Stevia Have Added “Hidden” Sugar?
A lot of stevia for sale today has added ingredients and hidden sugars added. Remember “ose” on the end of a word is usually another form of sugar. One of these ingredients that you see often in this so called pure stevia is dextrose! Stay away from this, it is sugar and there is nothing pure about it.
When purchasing stevia, make sure the ingredients are OLNY pure stevia (no artificial colors, flavors or added preservatives) then you would probably be okay to consume this.
How To Make Your Own Pure Stevia & Liquid Stevia
If you are wanting to make sure your stevia is pure, then try making it yourself. Growing stevia is super easy. You can pick up a stevia plant at your local nursery and I have also seen them at home improvement stores in their garden centers. Stevia plants have become very easy to find these days.
Stevia can be grown in pots, in landscapes, and in gardens. You can even grow stevia indoors. It requires very little maintenance. It can be harvested all summer long but is sweetest in the fall when the temperatures become cooler.
When your stevia is ready to harvest (you can view my stevia that is ready for harvest in the video below) then follow these simple steps to make your own pure stevia and liquid stevia.
- Harvest your stevia plant by cutting off the branches at the base of the plant.
- Wash the branches/leaves in clean filter water.
- Pick leaves off stevia plant, discard the stems, and dry the leaves for 12 hours in the sun.
- Once your leaves are dry, grind them in a food processor or coffee grinder to make pure stevia. I find that a coffee grinder makes for the finest powder and works very nicely.
- Note ~ homegrown stevia powder is not as sweet as store bought stevia (300 times sweeter than sugar). To cook with home grown stevia simply replace every 1 cup of sugar with 3-4 teaspoons of homegrown stevia.
- To make liquid stevia, dissolve 1/4 cup pure homegrown stevia powder with 1 cup hot filtered water. Stir and leave out at room temperature for 24 hours. After 24 hours strain the stevia out of the liquid and store the liquid stevia in the refrigerator.
That is it. It tastes amazing and you will never buy store bought stevia again. One plant usually supplies enough stevia to last me a year. Remember, a little goes a long way!! 🙂 So head on out and get yourself a stevia plant and try this for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!
How To Make Your Own Pure Stevia & Liquid Stevia ~ Part 2
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- Leaves from a stevia plant
- 1/4 cup pure homegrown stevia
- 1 cup hot filtered water
Instructions
- Harvest your stevia plant by cutting off the branches at the base of the plant.
- Wash the branches/leaves in clean filter water.
- Pick leaves off stevia plant, discard the stems, and dry the leaves for 12 hours in the sun.
- Once your leaves are dry, grind them in a food processor or coffee grinder to make pure stevia. I find that a coffee grinder makes for the finest powder and works very nicely.
- Note ~ homegrown stevia powder is not as sweet as store bought stevia (300 times sweeter than sugar). To cook with home grown stevia simply replace every 1 cup of sugar with 3-4 teaspoons of homegrown stevia.
- To make liquid stevia, dissolve 1/4 cup pure homegrown stevia powder with 1 cup hot filtered water. Stir and leave out at room temperature for 24 hours. After 24 hours strain the stevia out of the liquid and store the liquid stevia in the refrigerator.
Share Your Thoughts
Have you grown your own stevia?
What are some of your favorite ways to use stevia?
Hi Halle,
I was very happy to find this post. I have dried homegrown stevia but didn’t know what amounts to use. If you use the liquid, how much would you use? (compared to sugar)
Gurli
Did you see my video for this? I go over all of this in the video 🙂 It is in the last minute of the video.
Will try it
★★★★★
Love stevia. Grow my own in zone 8/7. In a sheltered spot near the south side of the house, it overwinters, only dying back. Love that. It also has a chance to produce hundreds of seeds every year and I do spy a few volunteers each spring, usually inside the holes in regular bricks–easy to dig up if you don’t mind wrestling the spiders for them.
I enjoy using a stevia leaf in the grounds basket of my coffee pot. With coffee, you barely taste the herby flavor of the stevia. It is a bit pungent, maybe like a marigold, at least to me. It takes getting used to, but hey, what a gift if you can grow your own sweetener!
I see you do not mind discussing brands–is the KAL brand safe? It’s about $30 for 3.5 ounces (2380 servings), not a bad price.
Yes it has no additives
Where and for how long can you store your home-made powdered stevia? Also, for how long can you store liquid stevia in the refrigerator? How long have you been using home-made stevia, and have you or your family experienced any side affects?
Powdered stevia should be stored in an airtight container in your pantry. Mine last 1 year+. Liquid stevia needs to be stored in the refrigerator and I would consider straining the stevia leaves out so that it last longer. I would try to use it up in 2 weeks to a month but I think it could last longer. Not sure on the liquid. If there is mold of any kind, toss it. I have been using pure homegrown stevia for 3 years now and no side affects here…now store bought is another story.
I am totally horrified of what I read on other websites about artificial sweeteners. I am so grateful I found your website. I will definitely bookmark this. Thank you so much!!
I made this earlier this week from bulk powdered stevia herb. Epic fail. The smell was horrendous and the taste not much better. It was also a very dark color. Suggestions?
I tried to grow stevia here in Arizona and the plant died after a couple months. I tried to grow from seed, and that didn’t work either. Don’t know if it’s me, or what, but I have a hard time growing things. So, I think I’ll just buy my stevia and be done with it…thanks for the info tho…
Stevia is really hard to start from seed. It is very hard to germinate. Have you tried looking at your a hardware stores garden center (like Lowe’s or Home Depot)? I always see stevia plants there.
I freeze my stevia seeds prior to germination which produces a near 100% success rate. I got that idea from germinating Okra seeds, also a challenge to germinate. //Jimmer
★★★★★
Thanks for the tip James!! I will definitely try that the next time.
how long does the dried stevia extract will expired??
A year? two years?
I don’t think it really does expire. I have been using mine for 3 years now and it taste super fresh!
Hi, i really like your posts, and i just had a problem. See i made Fine powdered natural Stevia powder with a normal blender, and then wanted to try filtering it with a fine net used for precisely that, separating the smaller fine powder leaving all the bigger stuff behind, y tried testing this sweet powder in a hot cup of water to see how sweet it would get, i used a wealthy amount of the powder and got close to no sweet flavor, would you have an idea of why this is? and thanks for the post!
Ok, ths for the info by the way..
🙂
I’ve been buying the stevia plant for about 7 years now, and I love it. The one thing I’ve never done was try either propagating a fee pieces or bring it indoors when it turns cold. It’s great using in fresh mint and cucumber water. Great info. Thanks.
Hi,
I came across your website while Googling for possible ways to make stevia extracts on my own. Thank you so much for all the info and the video. It just makes things so much easier to understand when watching the instructions with your own eyes. : )
I just have two questions:
1) I live in Malaysia which has tropical weather. (rain and sun) I was wondering if you could offer some tips on how to care for the stevia plant under such weather conditions.
2) How long does the powdered stevia and the liquid stevia lasts, refrigerated or otherwise?
Thank you in advance.
Stevia is a very hardy plant, it should do fine in your area. You might need to water it a bit more, but most herbs like it in hotter weather.
The powder stevia will last for a year if not longer. I have some that is from 2 years ago and it still taste amazing.
As for the liquid stevia, I would say anywhere from 2-4 weeks in the refrigerator. I actually prefer the powdered form over the liquid!
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