Stevia.ws, the Stevia website, is an interactive community on Stevia with recipes, baking tips, information about steviosides and REB-A, all about the sweet herb.

Some quick facts about the use of Stevia are:

• Completely 100% natural
• No calories
• No carbohydrates
• No Glycemic Index
• Tastes like totally pure sugar
• Safe for diabetics to consume

Here are some more facts about the sweetness and composition of Stevia:

• It has been in use for hundreds of years.
• When it is refined, it is 200-480 times sweeter than sugar made from sugar cane. The only aftertaste ever found with Stevia is if the concentration is too high.
• Made from the leaves of the Stevia plant.
• Dissolves easily in water.
• It is very heat stable, to its 196-198 centigrade melting point.
• Non toxic. This was proven by the Safety Research Institute for Chemical Compounds Compounds Co. Ltd of Japan in a study entitled “Skihashi K et al”, in which Stevia extract and Steviol were found to have no DNA-damaging activity.
• It does not ferment, making it perfect for many different foods that are difficult to sterilize with heat. Using Stevia means that the Maillard reaction, which causes certain foods to brown with heat, does not occur and the white color of such foods is preserved.
• It is stable within different PH levels, having an acid/alkali stability of PH3-9.
• Stevia is a healthy replacement for sugar, and especially all other artificial sweeteners.

While Stevia is popular for in home use, it is also ideal for commercial applications too:

• Its anti-oxidant properties make it ideal for use in cosmetics, as well as in animal-feed and for soil supplementation.
• The agricultural side of Stevia production is very efficient. One hectare of plants yields 1500 to 2000 kilograms (3300 to 4400 pounds) of dry Stevia plant leaves, which ultimately is 100 to 200 kilograms (220 to 440) of Stevioside.
• Saves as much as 60% in production, transportation and storage costs. Here's why. Its use is incredibly efficient, because of its stability in the presence of heat, light, acid and alkali and the fact that it does not ferment. Because of these characteristics, using Stevia in food and beverage means those products have a much longer shelf life, because they are bacteriostatic and retain their quality much longer than other products.
• Stevia has a wide variety of uses. It is not only addition to food and beverages, but can also be used in cosmetics, toothpaste, cigarette flavoring, as a medicine medium, a sweetener complex and in various other products.