Stevia has a problem with it’s unstable sweetness cycle, it goes bitter/sweet/bitter. This cycle is what gives stevia based products the strange after taste. There is a way to "create" Erythritol with an all natural process.

Erythritol is made by enzymatic processes where enzymes break-down natural foods that are a part of your everyday diet (fruits and vegetables). The process that we use to yield the white crystals is the introduction of microorganisms classified as “osmotolerant”. The non-GMO microorganisms are introduced, and during that 3 day “fermentation” process a white crystalline powder is formed. Those crystals are then purified with natural activated charcoal and ultrafiltration, no chemicals involved.

The Erythritol that we make is considered a "carbohydrate" by the FDA, because every food product is either a protein, fat or carbohydrate. Since our product is made from plant fibers, it is a "carbohydrate". Our proprietary formulation has 0 calories, unlike other sugar alcohols, and 0 glycemic index for consumers with diabetes.

Cooking, baking, candying, melting and freezing stevia brings up issues for consumers who need the consistency of sugar in their recipes. Swerve Sweetener acts just like sugar at all temperatures and in all states. We also offer a confectioners style formulation for making icings and other recipes.

I just read your article about stevia and I am wondering if the small plant I recently purchased at my local garden supply store is the same thing.  I have tasted it and the taste is like the stevia powder that I buy from my local healthfood store so I guess it is the same. I understand though, that it is not a perennial and I will have to take it indoors for winter. Is this true?

ADTAS - pure and natural agave nectar is wonderful. I grow it in my garden in Texas.

nutrico - I DO NOT agree with isolating sugar alcohols, mixing and matching more chemicals, natural or not, together in a lab, and then blending it with a pure form of a sweetener and calling it safe and natural so you can sell it. I believe that a sweet food or herb is just that - eat it as the food or the herb. Stevia is like dried basil or oregano; some like it and some don't. But to make it more pleasing to the taste by altering the original form, is not along my lines of thinking. You either like it or you don't. But leave it as it is.

Sugar alcohols are being over used, as we Americans love to do, and it is causing serious IBS and digestive issues. Children should not be encouraged to eat or drink too many sugar alcohols, nor should women who are pregnant. I am sorry, but I cannot support your products.

My recommendation is for people to find something  that they like that is unaltered by man.

tabitha - match the growing environment of Uruguay, South America; you will probably want to put the plant in a greenhouse or bring it in in winter months.