Disclaimer: I am not a big fan of Stevia. Like many artificial sweeteners, I find it hard to use without getting the distinctive taste of Stevia. Nonetheless, I decided to take one for the team and do some testing.
Disclaimer 2: As a menthol smoker for 40 years, my taste buds were destroyed long ago. Please take this into consideration as you evaluate these results. Your results may most definitely vary.
I have been working on a sweet peppermint liquid for a few weeks, and this morning I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I had switched from Sucralose to SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia about a week ago because that was available at the local grocery store, and the Sucralose had not been behaving well in this mix.
The one nice thing about working with SweetLeaf is it seems to be an almost 1:1 replacement for Sucralose (Sweetener TFA).
This morning, I hit the 99% mark on my mix. It was very very close. The recipe was simple:
Koolada (FA) 1%
SweetLeaf Clear 2.5%
peppermint (FA) 9%
Since my order of Pyure arrived yesterday, this was an ideal time to do a real head-to-head comparison. After a few tests and adjustments, I came up with a nearly identical mix:
Koolada (FA) 1%
Pyure Liquid 0.9%
peppermint (FA) 9%
The Verdict
To my taste, the sweetness levels of the two mixes are very very close. The difference is in the presentation of the sweetness.
The SweetLeaf is more obvious and has a slight hint of Stevia taste. Reducing the amount eliminates the Stevia taste but also reduces the desired sweetness.
The Pyure provides the same level of sweetness but is much more subtle in its presentation. I do not get any Stevia taste, even using what some would consider a very high level.
For this mix, and until I’ve had a chance to compare Erythritol and Monk Juice, I will stick with Pyure as my artificial sweetener.
The only downsides to Pyure are the extreme concentration and poor factory bottle that makes measuring in small quantities very difficult. I will move it to a more accurate dropper bottle and dilute it 2:1 or 2.5:1 for future use. That would provide improved measuring accuracy and use dilutions more in line with conventional sweeteners.
Testing Equipment
All testing was done on a Reuleaux DNA200 in temperature control mode with an Aspire Cleito using new Aspire OEM SS316L coils at a temp of 430°F.
PS. The temporary name for this mix is “Aphrodite on Sugar Mountain During a Blizzard”.