How do you choose a stevia grade?
The most common mistake in stevia sourcing is specifying a grade because it is familiar — usually Reb A 97 — and then trying to solve taste problems afterwards. The better sequence is: define the application, the sweetness target, the flavour system around it, and the cost-in-use ceiling. The grade follows from those four inputs.
A carbonated flavoured water, a high-protein powder and a baked good place completely different demands on the sweetener. Acid conditions, heat exposure, protein interactions and the presence of other flavours all change how a given glycoside profile performs.
Which steviol glycoside grade fits which application?
Reb A 60 / Reb A 80
Cost-efficient sweetness with a more noticeable stevia note
Applications where stevia is part of a blend system, or where flavour masking is present — sauces, bakery, confectionery, tabletop blends.
Reb A 97 / Reb A 98
High purity, cleaner taste, the workhorse grade for most formulations
Beverages, dairy, nutritional powders and general sugar reduction where a clean profile and reliable supply matter more than the last few points of taste refinement.
Reb M 95
The most sugar-like taste of the glycosides, at a higher cost per unit
Premium beverages, flavoured waters and products where stevia carries the sweetness alone and aftertaste is the deciding factor. Often used in a blend with Reb A to balance cost.
GSG (Glucosyl Steviol Glycosides, 80/85/90)
Modified glycosides positioned as flavour modifiers rather than primary sweeteners
Rounding off sweetness curves, reducing bitterness and improving mouthfeel in combination with Reb A or Reb M systems.
Reb A vs Reb M: which should you use?
Reb M tastes more like sugar because it lacks the bitter and licorice notes associated with the stevioside and Reb A molecules. The trade-off is cost: Reb M 95 is meaningfully more expensive per unit of sweetness. In practice, most commercial formulations do not choose one or the other — they blend. A Reb A 97 / Reb M 95 system can deliver most of the Reb M taste improvement at a fraction of the full-Reb M cost, and the ratio can be tuned to the application.
How do you reduce stevia aftertaste?
Aftertaste is rarely solved by the stevia grade alone. The most effective tools are: moving up in purity (Reb A 80 to 97, or introducing Reb M), adding GSG as a flavour modifier, using masking flavours, and blending with bulk sweeteners such as erythritol that contribute a cleaner sweetness onset. If aftertaste is the reason a project is stuck, it is usually a formulation question, not a purchasing question — and it is worth solving at bench scale before committing to a grade.
How do you compare stevia cost? Cost-in-use, not price per kilogram
Stevia is roughly 200–300 times sweeter than sugar, so the relevant number is the cost to reach a target sweetness in the finished product. A higher-purity grade at a higher price per kilogram frequently wins on cost-in-use because the dosage drops and the flavour system around it becomes simpler. Ask for sweetness-equivalent costing when comparing offers.
Is stevia permitted in foods in Canada?
Steviol glycosides are permitted sweeteners in Canada with established conditions of use. GSG is positioned differently — as a flavour preparation rather than a sweetener — and the regulatory treatment depends on how it is used and declared. Confirm the intended use and labelling position before finalizing a formulation for the Canadian market.
Working through a stevia decision?
We supply the full steviol glycoside range — Reb A 60 through 98, Reb M 95 and GSG — with custom blends, samples and lot-specific COAs. Tell us the application and the sweetness target, and we will suggest a grade or blend to trial.