4 ms·

So, what is it that makes Stevia taste so horrible? Is this another Phenylketonuria problem?

bradknowles 4y ago
Or am I the only one who thinks that Stevia tastes horrible -- worse than any other artificial sweetener I've ever known?
- aidenn0 4y ago
  No it takes awful to me as well.
- headmelted 4y ago
  I’ve never noticed an aftertaste. Anything with aspartame in it seems to make me immediately feel nauseous. Not sure if I’m an outlier here.
  - colordrops 4y ago
    No, I get that as well. It's subtle, but real.
- tejtm 4y ago
  Stevia is just fine for me kind of sweet if you don't over do it, but I have known others with the same reaction as yours. I also like licorice, but cilantro barely tastes like anything to me a garnish with nothing to distinguish it from random yard clippings.
- klodolph 4y ago
  A percentage of people get a bitter taste from stevia. It depends on the person. I think that’s a big reason why it hasn’t replaced standards like sucralose.
- jansan 4y ago
  When Coca Cola released their Stevia sweetened "Coca Cola Life", I thought this was a great compromise between taste and calories. I drank quite a lot of that stuff, and suddenly, from one day to the other, the taste absolutely disgusted me. It just felt horribly artifical, and until today it sends a shiver down my spline just seeing those bottles in the supermarket. No idea what made my brain switch.
- tomerv 4y ago
  I hate it, it has a terrible aftertaste for me.
- notacoward 4y ago
  Definitely not the only one. Stevia instantly and completely ruins the taste of anything it's in for me, so when I'm looking at energy or hydration drinks I always have to check the labels carefully. Gives me a bit more empathy for people with more serious allergies and sensitivities, I guess.
continuational 4y ago
All artificial sweeteners I've tried, I've found absolutely horrible.
- my69thaccount 4y ago
01100011 4y ago
I've found that stevia works well in small amounts when coupled with sugar, but less sugar than you otherwise would have used. I really like in in my protein shakes along with a couple of dates. Using it as the sole source of sweetness results in the disgusting bitter taste. Maybe i just got lucky with my taste buds though.
- Blackthorn 4y ago
  It seems to work a lot better when a big company's flavor chemists handle it with other flavors, versus when I try to do it at home. Like MyProtein's vanilla/chocolate stevia-flavored soy protein. Beats the pants off of my own attempts with unflavored soy protein.
  - 01100011 4y ago
    I find that a lot of presweetened powders are way too sweet for my liking. I just want a subtle sweetness. Im not trying to replicate a milkshake.
- Moldoteck 4y ago
  Wait... Are you using 100% clean stevia? I thought it is sold in a mix with eritrol, where stevia is a small percent of that mix, because it is 400% more sweetness compared to sugar and to prevent bitter
  - 01100011 4y ago
    Yep 100% pure powder. It is so strong that your post nasal drip is sweet after using it I mix some into a big jar of whey protein, close it up and mix well. That way i can get my preferred brand of protein with no additives to have just enough sweetness to be palatable when combined with some blueberries and dates.
klodolph 4y ago
I’m not sure what phenylketonuria has to do with this. Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic disorder that leaves you unable to process an amino acid, phenylalanine. This has nothing to do with taste or sugar, as far as I know. It does mean that you have to have a special diet low in phenylalanine to control your phenylalanine levels. A certain percentage of people get a bitter taste from stevia. Kind of like how a certain percentage of people get a soapy taste from cilantro.
- bradknowles 4y ago
  In this case, phenylketonuria is the first condition I ever heard of where it could affect your taste buds. I ran into this in high school, when my best friend could taste the slightest amounts of phenylalanine, but no one else in the school could. Our science teacher was very pleased to have him in the class, because he could now dive deeper on genetic conditions, with a real world example right there in the room. And, as it just so happens, cilantro does taste like soap to me, and I have been a subscriber to nocilantro.com for many years. And so now, I've been wondering if there's a similar problem with Stevia, where I am again affected negatively. And so I mentioned phenylketonuria as the poster child for that pattern. Maybe I need to see if there is a nostevia.com domain that I can subscribe to, or create one if not?

Or am I the only one who thinks that Stevia tastes horrible -- worse than any other artificial sweetener I've ever known?

aidenn0 4y ago
No it takes awful to me as well.
headmelted 4y ago
I’ve never noticed an aftertaste. Anything with aspartame in it seems to make me immediately feel nauseous. Not sure if I’m an outlier here.
- colordrops 4y ago
  No, I get that as well. It's subtle, but real.
tejtm 4y ago
Stevia is just fine for me kind of sweet if you don't over do it, but I have known others with the same reaction as yours. I also like licorice, but cilantro barely tastes like anything to me a garnish with nothing to distinguish it from random yard clippings.
klodolph 4y ago
A percentage of people get a bitter taste from stevia. It depends on the person. I think that’s a big reason why it hasn’t replaced standards like sucralose.
jansan 4y ago
When Coca Cola released their Stevia sweetened "Coca Cola Life", I thought this was a great compromise between taste and calories. I drank quite a lot of that stuff, and suddenly, from one day to the other, the taste absolutely disgusted me. It just felt horribly artifical, and until today it sends a shiver down my spline just seeing those bottles in the supermarket. No idea what made my brain switch.
tomerv 4y ago
I hate it, it has a terrible aftertaste for me.
notacoward 4y ago
Definitely not the only one. Stevia instantly and completely ruins the taste of anything it's in for me, so when I'm looking at energy or hydration drinks I always have to check the labels carefully. Gives me a bit more empathy for people with more serious allergies and sensitivities, I guess.

continuational 4y ago

All artificial sweeteners I've tried, I've found absolutely horrible.

my69thaccount 4y ago

01100011 4y ago

I've found that stevia works well in small amounts when coupled with sugar, but less sugar than you otherwise would have used. I really like in in my protein shakes along with a couple of dates. Using it as the sole source of sweetness results in the disgusting bitter taste. Maybe i just got lucky with my taste buds though.

Blackthorn 4y ago
It seems to work a lot better when a big company's flavor chemists handle it with other flavors, versus when I try to do it at home. Like MyProtein's vanilla/chocolate stevia-flavored soy protein. Beats the pants off of my own attempts with unflavored soy protein.
- 01100011 4y ago
  I find that a lot of presweetened powders are way too sweet for my liking. I just want a subtle sweetness. Im not trying to replicate a milkshake.
Moldoteck 4y ago
Wait... Are you using 100% clean stevia? I thought it is sold in a mix with eritrol, where stevia is a small percent of that mix, because it is 400% more sweetness compared to sugar and to prevent bitter
- 01100011 4y ago
  Yep 100% pure powder. It is so strong that your post nasal drip is sweet after using it I mix some into a big jar of whey protein, close it up and mix well. That way i can get my preferred brand of protein with no additives to have just enough sweetness to be palatable when combined with some blueberries and dates.

klodolph 4y ago

I’m not sure what phenylketonuria has to do with this. Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic disorder that leaves you unable to process an amino acid, phenylalanine. This has nothing to do with taste or sugar, as far as I know. It does mean that you have to have a special diet low in phenylalanine to control your phenylalanine levels. A certain percentage of people get a bitter taste from stevia. Kind of like how a certain percentage of people get a soapy taste from cilantro.

bradknowles 4y ago
In this case, phenylketonuria is the first condition I ever heard of where it could affect your taste buds. I ran into this in high school, when my best friend could taste the slightest amounts of phenylalanine, but no one else in the school could. Our science teacher was very pleased to have him in the class, because he could now dive deeper on genetic conditions, with a real world example right there in the room. And, as it just so happens, cilantro does taste like soap to me, and I have been a subscriber to nocilantro.com for many years. And so now, I've been wondering if there's a similar problem with Stevia, where I am again affected negatively. And so I mentioned phenylketonuria as the poster child for that pattern. Maybe I need to see if there is a nostevia.com domain that I can subscribe to, or create one if not?