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?
WHERE on your PINTEREST 85 boards can I find this to pin on my board? So many say you can pin their article but you cannot find it anywhere. Wish people would tell in their article so many can learn from you. TY
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You can hover over any of the pictures and a Pin It button will show up. There are also social buttons at the bottom of the article. Thanks for pinning this! 🙂
We use a lot of the flavored Stevia drops such as vanilla creme and hazelnut from sweet leaf brand for our coffee. Do you think homemade stevia could be flavored?
Also we use our current bottles for months without running out…sounds like we would really have to use the homemade liquid fast!
hi,hope you can see my comment.i bought 2 stevia plants.i have candida so I cant eat any sugar or honey because of it.i want to make some rice pudding or some pancakes etc with stevia.now I understand the powder stevia instructions.i can also make it in summer before it goes to flower right?also the liquid stevia is it like stevia extract or its sth else?like can I use liquid stevia in buttercream or it will go runny since it has water?also if stevia extract is different how can I make it?can I use both to sweeten my recipes or your version is best for sweets and cremes and cakes?also homegrown stevia is not as strong as store bought.if I want to replace 4tablespoons of sugar how much powder stevia or liquid?thank you and sorry for the many questions.
I grew my own Stevia (using bedding plants from a local nursery) for the first time, last year. I decided to use the water system to make my drops. First, I dried my leaves, then I ground them to powder. Then I steeped them for a prescribed time in water. Then I strained them through a coffee filter in a mesh Collander and bottled them. The sweetness of the drops were VERY poor!!! It took nearly HALF of my 2-oz. bottle to sweeten my tea to my liking!!!
This year, I determined that I would use the Vodka method. I’ve already done two bottles, because my husband broke one of my plants while weeding—he stepped backwards and snapped a plant off of its trunk. I just washed it, dried it, crushed the leaves and put them in a quart canning jar, and poured vodka over the leaves until they were completely submerged, put the lid on tightly, and steeped the brew for 36 hours, shaking the mixture periodically throughout the duration.
Then I strained the leaves through a coffee filter in a mesh Callander (into a pot), and put on the stone at a VERY low heat until it came to a full SIMMER—NOT boiling—and then pulled it off the stove to cool.
Of course, all the alcohol had evaporated. When it was cool, I bottled it. I made a tea and added 25 drops (my USUAL amount with Stevia drops that I purchase in the Health Food Store) and it was PERFECT!!!!
The second bottle is completely gone, though, because I made a big batch of strawberry freezer jam using the Stevia drops and Chia seeds for thickener, in my slow cooker (I found the recipe online).
My jam tastes wonderful, too, and no sugar or artificial sweeteners as in sugar-free jams in the store!!!
I put the pot on the STOVE, not the Stone!!! ?
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In your video on how to grind stevia leaves and make liquid stevia, you show a container of store-bought stevia (white) and how it is sweeter than the home ground green stevia. I have a huge stevia bush and I just collected a bunch of leaves in a baggie which I had dried.
I don’t like the store-bought kind (Truvia, Purvia, etc), because it’s not pure stevia. They cut it with other sugars like erythritol (corn) and dextrose (cane sugar). Hard to find a store-bought that is just stevia.
So my question is this…. in the video, is the white stuff Truvia, Purvia, Sweet Leaf, or some other brand? Is cutting the white stuff with other sugars what makes it so much sweeter than the green powder kind.
I enjoyed your video and I’m going out to buy a coffee grinder today! Thanks very much for recording this video. 🙂
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Hey, Thank you so much. We just started growing stevia in a farm here in Indore, India.
Didn’t what to do with so many dry leaves :p
Your info sounds really interesting. Will try it asap and share the results.
Thanks again. One question ,How long can the liquid stevia last ?
Do you always have to keep it refrigerated ?
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Hello , herb stevia to Chqdy you buy ?
im iran
We are growing our own stevia in a polytunnel and I harvested some. Living in Ireland I had issues with drying the stevia and it took a few days before it was ready to process in the coffee grinder. I want to ask should the stevia smell?, after grinding my fiancee said it smelt of green hay. I find the smell anything but sweet like you suggested. I used it to sweeten rhubarb, it did remove the tartness but there was an unpleasant aftertaste from the stevia. Is this how it is supposed to be? I was also wondering can you dry the stevia leaves in a dehydrator, have you tried this?
Hi Ann!
Congratulations on making your first round of stevia. To answer your questions, it does have an “earthy” smell to it and this is normal. After it sits a bit, that smell will dissipate and a sweetness will overtake. Yes you certainly can use a dehydrator on low heat to speed up the process. Good luck and do keep us posted!
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
I dry my stevia leaves by dehydration – works better since I maintain complete control.
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I have a question. My stevia plants have several blossoms, can I use those also?
Sounds to me that your stevia has shot to seed and needs to be harvested as soon as possible. I have never tried using the blossoms, I’d recommend just sticking with the leaves.
Ok, thank you. I am hoping the leaves will still be strong then. I better get to work!
Thanks for the post. I am going to try it. Although, will it work if I buy dried stevia leaves? (instead of growing my own plant). Oh, you already answered that question above. The brand of liquid stevia I have bought for years – Sweet Leaf Stevia Concentrate decided to add Potassium Sorbate and I will no longer be buying it. And I’m so tired of finding a product or brand and sticking with the product for years only to have them compromise the ingredients, which is the reason I was buying it in the first place. If I make my own, the ingredients will never be compromised. Mountain Rose Herbs has certified organic dried stevia leaf (and powder too) for a good price.
I dried my stevia leaves but has anyone tasted them??? They taste HORRIBLE and i can take liquid stevia in anything!!! BUT THE DRIED LEAVES HAS A HORRID HORRID TASTE?? Did i grow something from ?? or dry them wrong? I doubt it?? anyone else have that issue??
That seems odd, mine was incredibly sweet with a slight bitter after taste. Did you let your stevia shoot to seed (flower)? If so, that can create a strong bitter flavor.
I was wondering, could I use my dehydrator or would that take something away from the Stevia?
Using a dehydrator would work perfectly. Just do it on the lowest temperature possible.