Stevia vs sugar

[sencha]

Does anyone else actually prefer the taste of stevia over sugar? I never add sweetener to any unflavored tea, but occasionally enjoy a pinch of stevia to bring out the flavor in herbal/fruity tisanes. Strange as it may be, I find adding regular sugar (or even honey) to any type of tea gives it an off-taste, but with stevia, it's absolutely delicious. I don't really detect any aftertaste that a lot of people complain about with "artificial" sweeteners, but I'm using a brand which isolates the main sweetening compound in stevia, supposedly eliminating the licorice/bitter aftertaste.

If anyone is interested in the brand, let me know. I'll not mention it unless someone asks as I don't want this to look like an advertisement.

[chiqclick]

i must try this, thanks for the suggestion! i always use sugar though.

[riccaicedo]

I tried stevia as a sweetener (although not for tea, I like tea without sugar) and it has a strong aftertaste. I like the fact that it's a natural alternative to sugar, which is high on calories. But I think sugar has a pure sweet flavor without any oher taste.

[Chip]

Give me honey or give me death! I don't sweeten hot tea but will add a touch of honey when making "SLT" for chillin'. Honey has the added benefit of acting as a natural preservative for iced tea which is really noticable with iced sencha which can oxidize quickly.

[RoseWood]

edit

[dzrogers]

Ok, I'll bite. What's the brand?

[RoseWood]

Mine is SweetLeaf. I got it from the healthfood section of my local grocery store. Pretty sure that brand comes in different types.. liquid/powder, and some may have the typical herby taste, so plan on spending a few minutes reading packages. I got the cheapest one.. 35 individual packets.

I tried it again this morning in jasmin green tea... BIG MISTAKE! Horrible chemical taste, rendered the tea undrinkable (of course I don't add sugar to green tea either, so the sweetness didn't help). I also had an unexpected run to the restroom... don't know if it was related, but I'd recommend proceeding with caution...small quantities until tolerance can be evaluated.

Anyway, I'm out of breakfast tea, so it'll be a while before I try again.