This small shrub finds its roots in South America and has been in use by the Guarani and the Mato Grosso people since ancient times, even before the 16th century. These indigenous communities hail from Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina and have used the plant not only for its sweetness but also for its medicinal properties.
In 1884, Swiss botanist Bertoni and Italian chemist Rebaudi discovered the sweet herb and named the plant stevia rebaudiana bertoni honouring themselves for isolating the sweet compounds present in the leaves.
Now, it is being cultivated around the world, with significant cultivation taking place in countries like Japan, China, and the United States. Countries like Portugal and Spain have also become prominent in stevia cultivation in Europe due to their suitable climes. Stevia farming in India is a growing trend due to the growing popularity and demand for natural, healthier sweeteners. Stevia health benefits also include being 0 calorie and diabetic friendly and India being the diabetes capital of the world, stevia is becoming the go-to sugar alternative. You’ll find many sweetener brands in the market, some of which are: Sweetify, Magic leaf, Sugar free, etcetera.
For stevia to go from the farm to your table, it has to go through a multitude of steps. Steps that ensure only the best reaches you.
Step 1: the cultivation of stevia
Stevia is generally grown from seedlings or cuttings. The cuttings are kept in greenhouses at first, after some time, only the best are transplanted in the fields. Optimal soil conditions with adequate sunlight and water are necessary for stevia to thrive. But initial conditions like these are not everything, continuous care and upkeep are important. Monitoring for pests and diseases, ensuring the right amount of irrigation and fertilization, and more are paramount.
Step 2: the harvesting of stevia
The best time to harvest stevia is just before flowering or at the appearance of a white flower. That is the time when the leaves are at peak sweetness, meaning, they have the highest concentration of steviol glycosides at this moment. The harvesting takes place either manually or mechanically, the point to pay attention to is not damaging the leaves and handling them carefully.
Step 3: the initial processing
The first step after stevia leaves are collected is washing to remove the dirt and other impurities. The washed leaves are then dried – either sundried or with the help of machine dryers. Some traditional methods use air drying or dehydrators to reduce moisture content. This initial step prepares them for further processing.
Step 4: the extraction from stevia leaves
The extraction of steviol glycosides (the compounds responsible for the sweetness of stevia leaves) begins by steeping the dried leaves in hot water, similar to brewing tea. This process draws out the steviol glycosides from the leaves into the water. Following this, the liquid extract, also called “stevia tea” is filtered for the removal of solid particles.
Advanced extraction methods include:
- Supercritical CO2 extraction: This technique uses carbon dioxide under high pressure and temperature to selectively extract steviol glycosides without any harmful substances
- Alcohol extraction: This technique involves dissolving the liquid extract in alcohol and evaporating it to concentrate the steviol glycosides.
Step 5: the purification of the extract
In this step, the extract is purified and crystallized.
Some methods of purification are:
- Ion exchange chromatography: This technique separates steviol glycosides based on their charge properties.
- Activated carbon filtration: This technique removes the colour and impurities from the extract.
Recrystallization
To achieve high purity levels, like 99%, the concentrated extract is made to go through repeated recrystallization. The reason being that each cycle separates different glycosides and we only need the sweet ones.
Step 6: the making of the sweetener
This last step is formulating the sweetener in various forms like standalone sweeteners or using it in various products such as beverages, bakes, sweets and many more.
One step that is a constant throughout all of these is:
Quality Control
From steps 1 to 6, through cultivation to product packaging, quality has to be tested and maintained to give the consumers the absolute best and safe experience.
Steviol Glycosides have been recognized as safe (GRAS status) by the US FDA. However, only steviol glycosides with more than 95% purity are approved. Even whole leaves remain unapproved due to insufficient toxicology data.
Today, stevia is a sought-after sugar alternative. Due to its 0-calorie and diabetic-friendly nature, it does not raise blood glucose levels. Diabetics and health-conscious folk particularly like stevia.
Conclusion
Having gone through all the steps, I hope I have been able to simplify Stevia’s journey from the farm to the table for you. Or you at least have some idea now about the process. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. People regularly come to me and ask about stevia plant benefits, stevia health benefits, stevia leaf benefits, stevia farming and more. It helps me as much as it helps them. Me, my mom and my whole family use it and my view is that it is a better sugar substitute compared to the rest in the market right now. Do let me know what you think and how I can better answer your questions
