Customer Reviews

Pure Stevia Extract Powder by Kal - 3.5 oz

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As someone who has lived with diabetes for the past 11 years, I've done quite a bit of research to find a healthy (and cost-effective) alternative to sugar to satisfy my cravings for something sweet when the occasion arises, and it arises more often than not! I discovered Stevia 3 years ago and after trying every brand imaginable I settled on this one as a viable option for the foreseeable future. One thing I hadn't planned on was my new sugar substitute to start causing me gastrointestinal problems. Nothing serious but definitely not what I wanted.

I learned that most stevia products contain something called Xylitol, a very inexpensive sweetener that is commonly added to stevia and the main culprit was causing my gastrointestinal problems. I found a product online (amazon also) that did not include this ingredient in their stevia powder; 30 Grams Stevia 95% Steviosides Bulk Powder. If I wouldn't of needed this particular brand for it's level of purity, the low cost itself would have been enough for me to switch over in a heartbeat. Stevia is a fantastic alternative to sugar, and a sure way to lower one's risk of health problems down the road. I highly suggest everyone try it, diabetes or not!

It took me some time to get used to stevia and learn how to use it both for drinks and baking but now that I have both the taste and know how it is truly a great way to reduce sugar intake. I am not diabetic and have no health concerns that require me to avoid sugar, I just have a huge sweet tooth and use stevia to reduce the amount of sugar I consume for overall long term health. I have found that with this product 1/2 a teaspoon equals a full cup of sugar. I have gotten the best results in baked goods by mixing one or two types of other sweetners with the stevia to equal the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. So, for example, in a recipe that requires 1 cup of sugar, I would use 1/4 tsp stevia (which is like a half cup of sugar) with 1/2 cup of honey or rapadura. Sometimes, if I want to really cut the sugar and calories, I even use a mixture of stevia and organic erythritol. This comes out very good but the organic erythritol is so expensive I don't do it often and the non-organic kind is made from corn, most of which I believe is GMO and heavily sprayed.

One of my favorite uses of this product is in coffee and tea. I use one tiny scoop of stevia, using the handy, long handled scooper included with this product, and one teaspoon of organic erythritol in my very large mug of coffee every morning. Perfect!

I love using this Stevia Extract in my tea, I use it lots of the time up to 3 times a day! It tastes great with my Licorice Peppermint Tea (Yogi), however I am sure it would taste great with most teas. It also tastes pretty good when added to oatmeal of any sort and mixed with some fruit. I would be weary of using this Stevia with any form of protein shake/meal replacement, it just doesn't go well. I wanted to try it with Garden of Life's RAW Meal, but the taste did not improve (tasted rather odd with the Stevia). I would however recommend to a small amount to a smoothie with more flavors. I also tried it with water as one of the reviewers stated would be a good idea, and I did not find it pleasant at all.

PROS
+Value (2000+ servings, quite a bit less than a cent per serving) [NOTE: I paid 21.99 for the 3.5oz version, I have seen it for as low at 19.00 with Prime]
+Natural (knowing your not putting aspartame or Spenlda in your body is a major plus)
-Multiple uses (tea, cooking, oatmeal, etc)
-Small serving size provides a lot of flavor.

CONS
+Although KAL does improve upon the bitterness compared to most brands I have tried, there is a still a bitterness factor present, just toned down.
+Needs something to go along with it (did not taste good in water or protein shakes alone).
+Not organic? I can't find anything on the description page about it. I'm still in search of a great tasting organic Stevia extract. I will update this review if I do come across anything.

BOTTOM LINE
Stevia provides a healthy alternative to some of the questionable sweeteners on the market, and with a bit of research and creativity you can find many uses for it. I would much rather put the extract of a natural leaf in my body than some chemically engineered artificial sweetener. Stevia has it's own unique taste, so don't expect it to taste exactly like sugar, but to me it tastes pretty darn good. I could not go back to drinking my tea without it!

Have done a lot of research on Stevia and find that it is the ONLY healthy alternative to sugar. Stop using cups of sugar to bake with - just a half-teaspoon of Kal's Pure Stevia powder will sweeten that recipe so good your husband and kids will not know the difference. This brand has a great taste with no after-taste. There is a tiny little measuring spoon included in the jar - probably about 1/16 of a spoon, which you can use to measure sugar for a cup of coffee or tea, and it will be plenty sweet. Why add calories with sugar, why promote diabetes? I recommend using this brand of Stevia. I got the 3.5 oz jar and because you use so little, it will probably last me for 6 months or more. I don't buy a bag of sugar any more.

This is the Stevia product to buy. Very sweet and no bitterness. It may look expensive but there are over 2500 servings in 3.5 ounces. Don't bother with their liquid product--it's not sweet.

I was using other Stevia products -- especially the Stevia Packets - when my sister found this and sent me a bottle. It has lasted for over 6 months using it 3 to 4 times a day. Excellent value, and it has cut my use of other sugars and artificial sweeteners by 75%. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Kamia

I've been using stevia as my only sweetener for several years now, and after trying other brands KAL is the only brand that I will buy. Hands down, I think KAL Pure Stevia Extract Powder is simply the best stevia on the market today.

Before I started using stevia, I did my research and found that it is a totally natural sweetener used in Japan and throughout Europe for decades in all sorts of stuff, even though it's still relatively unknown here in the US. If you go investigate for yourself, you'll also read studies discussing health benefits from stevia - and all that is great but really and truly, I use stevia simply because it substitutes for sugar in my house and I want to avoid sugar for all those reasons everyone else does.

Why is KAL so great? I prefer the KAL brand because it's quick to dissolve, it's not combined with other things (like Truvia, for example), and there's no aftertaste. Fabulous stuff.

I'm setting here on a chilly Saturday morning, drinking coffee sweetened by KAL stevia, and it tastes exactly like the coffee I used to sip from my dad's cup - sweetened with Imperial sugar, white with milk - so many years ago. Except I'm not taking in calories and my blood sugar isn't being impacted by my cup o'joe today.

The only way I wouldn't give this product five stars is if it were possible to give it six.

- Reba Kennedy

We absolutely love this stevia in our house and have been using it for about a year now. After reading some of the other reviews, I thought I'd post a review including information on how to measure it. Kal stevia 3.5 oz size comes with a small scoop (some pure stevia products don't and the scoop is really nice to have). We "calibrated" our scoop and found that one scoop of stevia sweetens as well as 1 tbsp of sugar. So, if you like a tbsp of sugar in your coffee then you need a scoop. If you like a teaspoon in your tea, than you need about 1/3 of a scoop (about the size of a grain of rice). This makes sense because we found that there are about 34 "scoops" in a teaspoon, which means about 100 scoops makes a tablespoon. So it is accurate to say that this is 100 times sweeter than sugar. In conclusion:
1. We have found that there is no aftertaste or side effects from using this stevia when it is measured carefully.
2. If you accidentally get a mouthful of too much stevia there IS an aftertaste, so blend it in well.
3. If you accidentally use too much you will get an aftertaste too.
4. This product purchased on Amazon is the best value for stevia that we have found anywhere!
5. One final note, the only dessert I have used this in is rice pudding. The pudding comes out a little less thick, but tastes the same. Use the correlation of 1 scoop of stevia for every tbsp of sugar in your recipe and you should be ok.

Super sweet and no after taste. A tiny bit goes a very long way, so don't let the price fool you! I have tried most of the brands of stevia on the market, and as someone who has a tremendous sweet tooth, I can tell you honestly that this one is the best! Hot or cold drinks and for baking, it is hands down the best sweet deal around.
*No sugar rush - no calories - no tooth damage - no blood sugar fluctuations - no after tasgte - no bitterness - nothing added *
Pure, naked all natural and sweet!!!
Kal brand stevia is my purest and sweetest dream come true.

I've used this brand for 10 years, after trying umpteen different brands of stevia, and this is by far the best. I use it for everything, from drinks to baking and cooking. Stevia can be very tricky to bake with, but I've created my own recipes using this stevia that taste great. It has no aftertaste, like many other brands.