Everything Stevia
The Plant
Stevia rebaudiana bertoni is an herb in the Chrysanthemum family native of Eastern Paraguay, first discovered by the Guarani people of Paraguay. Called "Ka’a He’e" (“Sweet Herb”) in Guarani, stevia was used to sweeten their traditional drinks such as the herbal tea "Yerba Mate". The stevia leaf was an important ingredient in the indigenous native diet.
Stevia has been used for hundreds of years, and is currently used widely in such countries as Japan, South Korea, Israel, Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.
The Sweetness
Stevia’s sweet flavour is found in the naturally sweet steviol glycosides. Once solubilised, extracted and crystallized, these natural compounds are incredibly sweet, more than 200 times sweeter than sugar.
The Process
The manufacturer uses a process much like that of making tea to extract the steviol glycosides (with high Rebaudioside A), from the stevia leaf. It is steeped in fresh water, then filtered and purified before it is crystallized into a very high purity steviol glycosides (with high Rebaudioside A). This process brings out the sweetness and helps eliminate the bitter components commonly associated with stevia.
The Benefits
Stevia extracts (steviol glycosides) have numerous advantages as a sweetener.
- 100% natural
- Calorie-free
- Carbohydrate-free
- Heat stable
- Safe (The safety of steviol glycosides is well documented in numerous published scientific studies)
The main sweetener in PureVia™ is steviol glycosides (with high Rebaudioside A). Purevia contains 90% less calories than sugar and a valuable addition to any health-conscious diet plan.