Stevia is a semi-tropical plant in the daisy family that is native to South America and cultivated in China, Japan and Mexico as a commercial crop. For hundreds of years, the people of Brazil and Paraguay have used the leaf of this herb to lend sweetness to ceremonial beverages, as well as the everyday herbal tea called chimarrão.
The sweet factor from stevia is owing to a group of glycosides known as steviosides. Powdered stevia leaf is roughly 10 to 20 times sweeter than sugar, but is calorie-free and doesn’t impact blood glucose levels. To use in beverages or in cooking or baking, 2 tablespoons of stevia leaf powder is the approximate equivalent of 1 cup of sugar.
