Quick facts
- Intended for dietary supplement purposes only
- Extract in a base of water and 11% alcohol
- Better Stevia Liquid Extract Alcohol
Top reviews
Bitter
Better Stevia vs. Sweet Leaf
I will try to be as detailed as possible. So again I am evaluating “Now Foods: Better Stevia Original” and “Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme”.
At first, I expected Better Stevia to be what the packaging described, a better alternative to Stevia drinkers. I expected it to be exactly what they advertised in its packaging:
-Better tasting
-Just as healthy
etc.
To compare them, I alternated an average of 6 drops into my morning coffee everyday.
==Taste Evaluation==
After everyday usage of these two products and after testing them extensively; I see no -significant- difference between the two in taste. Please do take into consideration that I did not test these by serving suggestion amount (see Suggested Serving below).
==Ingredients==
Now let’s talk about the ingredients. Both products claim to be made with natural ingredients. “Now Foods Better Stevia Original” lists “water”, “certified Organic Stevia extract” and “11% alcohol”. “Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme” lists “natural flavors” apart from “Stevia extract”.
Sweet Leaf has quite an advantage, since it does not list alcohol as an ingredient.
I wanted more evidence about ingredients. I thought that Sweet Leaf was trying to pull as fast one, by passing alcohol as a “natural flavor”; like many companies have done.
So I visited the Sweet Leaf website and found this: “SweetLeaf Stevia® Sweetener does not use chemicals, alcohols, solvents or enzymes at any stage of the extraction and purification process.”
Bingo. Sweet Leaf has -no alcohol-.
==Suggested Serving and Packaging==
“Now Foods Better Stevia Original” serving suggestion is 1 to 4 drops and has a split-open cap that it’s very messy. You can’t count by drops, usually it spills to the body of the container. It is very difficult to measure exactly how much you’re administering. I found that many times the bitterness was noticeable due to not knowing how much I was using.
“Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme” serving suggestion is 5 to 8 drops and contains a dropper for easier administration of the product. You can count exactly how many drops you’re serving. As long as you don’t go beyond 7-8 drops; it should not be bitter at all.
Final evaluation from 1 to 5.
Taste:
“Now Foods Better Stevia Original” = 5
“Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme” = 5
Ingredients:
“Now Foods Better Stevia Original” = 4
“Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme” = 5
Suggested Serving and Packaging:
“Now Foods Better Stevia Original” = 2
“Sweet Leaf: Liquid Stevia Vanilla Creme” = 5
All in all Sweet Leaf wins, for several reasons. The packaging makes it very easy to serve the product properly. When I used the Sweet Leaf dropper with the Better Stevia I found that 4 drops weren’t bitter. But adding 8 drops of Better Stevia started to make my drink bitter. So Better Stevia claims it tastes better, as long as you follow their serving suggestion. Sweet Leaf tastes better otherwise.
And to folks who really care about their alcohol intake for whatever reason; Sweet Leaf claims to have none.
PS. Oh yeah just a quick note, when I ordered Better Stevia the “alcohol” was not mentioned on the title, now it is.
It takes just a little!
Going down
used for years!
If you want fast delivery, though, don’t order through Nutricity. I ordered it (as a prime member) and didn’t receive it for 9 days – meaning I couldn’t take it with me on the trip – which is why I ordered the 2 oz bottle….
It’s Stevia
Awesome, no calories
As a diabetic it is perfect for me. I make an awesome chocolate pudding with the stevia. The lemonade I made with it is great too. Even my adult son who loves his sugar thought that the lemonade was good.
My only problem is when it says 1/3 teaspoon. I don’t know of anyone that has a 1/3 teaspoon.
A Little Goes A Long Way…….
I just kept adding water….
very good taste, better than splenda, or other artifical sweeteners.
Willllll definately order again!
Thanks.
Better than powdered stevia…
FANTASTIC!!
Stevia Liquid, 8 ounce -SWEET!
This stuff is too good to be true.
TOO sweet
love this stevia
I just pour this into a 2oz dropper bottle for daily use.
It is much easier to pour this into a 2oz. dropper bottle for daily use. That way it is simple to measure.
This is the only sweetener I use
Only downside is that you do get some crystalazation that builds up around the the lid, but I think that’s just one of the properties of Stevia. It cleans up with a little warm water and paper towel, not a huge deal.
Great price for great stuff!
Best Stevia I have tried
Also, this is a great price…a real value. I will agree with everyone about using the dropper from my old bottle to make it easier to judge the amount. Will definitely be purchasing this from “Now” on!
GREAT BARGAIN if U can take the alcohol. Tastes about the SAME as SweetLeaf.
ALCOHOL: Obviously, if you are on ANABUSE or are an alcoholic, you probably do not want the 10% alcohol. Also, it seems dishonest to say “zero calories” I am pretty sure alcohol has many calories. And that it is turned straight into SUGAR by the body. Negligible when using 4 drops, but if you pour it in like one reviewer, you might not want this in your diet. (did you know anything less than a gram need not be listed, so anything in a one gram pack, like splenda, and shocker, TRUVIA, have some type sugar based sweetener, which you only find out about by buying a big bag!)
FLAVOR: I find all pure stevia is pretty similar in flavor, the difference is strength. Adding the alcohol, it could have made it a bit different in flavor, but I only noticed the lack of strength. Now, if you put TOO MUCH in, stevia is BITTER! If you get the right amount, and take time to adjust, or add a small bit of sugar for flavor, I find it a wonderful tool for a sugar addict like myself. It is amazing what a tiny bit of sugar does to fool your mouth and mellow out the artificial flavor. OR honey, etc. I personally enjoy NO STICKY SUGAR aftermouth. I add xylitol, which kills bacteria, for a super clean mouth feeling.
STRENGTH: THis stuff is a great deal. It is about (maybe a smidge weaker)the same strength of sweetleaf, which is 10 bucks for 2 oz at Whole Foods. The strongest brand I have tried is Clear Stevia by NuNaturals, which costs 15 for 2 oz at whole foods, but is cheaper due to being double the strength.
USE, MEASURING: don’t pour the stuff in. it is too expensive, and it will taste BAAAD. Pour some of the bottle into your old stevia bottle with a dropper, and use a dropper. I find about 5-10 drops per cup is good, depending what you are sweetening. (5 for water—yes, I am really addicted) Start small and work your way up to find your preference.
If you are totally unable to deal with droppers and little bottles, use a powder. SweetLear has one with fiber in it(don’t let it get wet and harden on your counter) , and others, or there is the cheap and maltodextrous Truvia.
A good deal, and I like it, but I WISH THEY WOULD TAKE OUT THE ALCOHOL. Seems pointless to me.
Great value
NOW Stevia Extract, 8 oz bottle.
better than sugar
An Excellent Calorie Free Alternative
Great product but it DOES have bitter aftertaste
UPDATE: I found a French Vanilla version of this that is quite tasty and seems to help with the bitterness. Quite nice!