What kind of herb that the leaves could be used to sweeten coffee or tea?!
"Stevia has many excellent properties. The body does not metabolize the sweet glycosides from the stevia leaf or any of its processed forms - so there is no caloric intake. Stevia doesn't adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by diabetics. "
"Stevia Poised to Shake Up Global Sweetener Market?
Coca-Cola Co. and Cargill Inc. team up to market a new zero-calorie natural sweetener derived from stevia.
(Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2007)"
Answers: "Stevia is a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. The leaves of this small, green Stevia rebaudiana plant have a delicious and refreshing taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar. "
"Stevia has many excellent properties. The body does not metabolize the sweet glycosides from the stevia leaf or any of its processed forms - so there is no caloric intake. Stevia doesn't adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by diabetics. "
"Stevia Poised to Shake Up Global Sweetener Market?
Coca-Cola Co. and Cargill Inc. team up to market a new zero-calorie natural sweetener derived from stevia.
(Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2007)"
Stevia
Lavender. I love to add it to my tea. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't know if it would be good there.
The previous posts are correct - it's Stevia. It can't be marketed in the US as a "sweetener" because it didn't get FDA approval for this use (thanks to the $$ of the Nutrasweet juggernaut) but it can be sold as a "diet supplement". I use it in everything and it tastes great. It's 100% natural and it doesn't have the laxative effect of maltitol or the other "-ol" sweeteners.
Never tried it in coffee, but mint leaves are wonderful in tea.
Crush lightly in bottom of cup or glass.
it's called Stevia. Make sure you buy the 100% pure stevia. A lot of stevia bottles / packets are sold with sweetener fillers like Maltodextrin and Dextrose. Check the label.
I've actually compared stevia to splenda. Splenda is a sharp sweetness and stevia is a more subtle and lingering sweetness. I try and stay away from Splenda and aspartame because of uncertainty.