Monk Fruit Sweetener - 25%

tl;dr: Adds sweetness, but has a noticeably different taste from sugar or artificial sweeteners. A good taste, but different. I ordered this particular monk fruit extract because it seemed to be one of the few that was pure monk fruit, unadulterated with that digestive nightmare xylitol, or with maltodextrin or any other filler. Since it's my first time ordering monk fruit extract, I can't really compare it to any other brand. Went with the 25% mogroside V version because I'm cheap and the 50% just seemed too expensive. Came in a standard-size spice shaker. It's a fine, light-brown powder that flows out VERY easily, so take care when trying to use just a small amount. Warning: It smells like burnt plastic. Ignore that and use it anyway...it tastes much better than it smells. So far, I've used the monk fruit powder in peppermint tea, coffee (to which I'd added cacao powder for a bit of chocolate flavor), lemonade (water + bottled lemon juice), and a porridge of chia seeds, ground flaxseed, coconut flour, and cacao powder. What you really need to know is that monk fruit extract is NOT in any way a straight swap for sugar or artificial sweeteners. While it is very sweet, it DOES NOT taste the same. You WILL notice a difference. The question is whether it's a bad difference, and the answer, to me, is 'nope.' Many people in the reviews have mentioned how very little of it you need to use to get a sweetening effect. That has not been my experience. Maybe it's just my sweet tooth, but I have had to use more than I expected. Definitely not as much as sugar or Sweet n Low, my usual go-to, but more than I thought after reading all the reviews. Next time, I'll suck up the extra cost and try the 50%, instead of the 25%, because it's supposed to be much sweeter. OK, so as far as taste goes...it sweetened both my peppermint tea and coffee, while adding an additional taste that was, I dunno, maybe a little brown sugar-y and nutty. To me, it didn't seem to change the taste of the drinks so much as to enhance them for the better. I've come to prefer them WITH monk fruit, especially the coffee because the nutty effect seems stronger there. Using monk fruit in my lemonade, on the other hand, was no bueno. At all. Yuck. That burned plastic smell I mentioned? Well, that's how the lemonade tasted, too. Like sweet burned plastic. I mentioned this to my doctor in passing, and he said it may have had to do with a reaction between the citric acid and the monk fruit. I'll take his word for it because science. The monk fruit did exceptionally well in my porridge. Took considerably more than I expected to sweeten it to my preference, but did not seem to change the overall taste at all. There seemed to be little difference between using Sweet N Low and using the monk fruit. I was very pleased with the end result. Some of the reviews have mentioned that it's difficult to mix into drinks, recipes, etc because of the fine powder form. I didn't have any of those issues. Mixed readily into hot beverages, porridge, and even cold water (although it required a little bit of extra stirring). The bottom line for me is that I'll continue to use monk fruit to replace artificial sweeteners in most, but not all things. I like the taste and ease of use -- but not the price, although I understand why it costs more. Full disclosure: I had some minor digestive issues a few hours after using monk fruit the first time. Can't swear the two things are related, and the issues have not repeated. Take that for what it's worth.

Great product. I use it in cooking and in coffee all day long. The smallest pinch is all I need and its all natural so no chemical taste. Sweeter than sugar and cant tell the difference in my dishes. This is not mixed with other things. I have used one of these for the full year it takes so little. Definetly will be buying it again.

This is my first experience to try a monkfruit product. I am health conscious about what I take into my body. Sugar is worse than cigarrette, but the taste is good. One day I saw one of my friends cooking with this monkfruit product as sugar alternative. Out of curiosity, I ordered this one. In a couple of days, it was on my hand. In the first a few days, I used my finger to get only a tiny bit of it and taste it. It is so sweet that I was really impressed. However, the taste is still different from that of sugar. It took me a few days to get used to the pure taste. Then I was comfortable to put a little into my food. Gradually I got used to ilthe taste. It tastes sweet, more like curry but it is like sweet curry. I can use it to cook from one kind of food to another. knowing this is a healthy product, I feel ok to use it more often than usual. This package looks small. But it is so sweet, I only consume a small portion. I expect it to last 4 weeks before I order the next one. This is a terrific product for the health conscious consumers like me. The only one improvement I will recommend is to package a tiny spoon with it so that I can measure it accurately each time I use it. But I am getting better in using the right volume now. Try one for yourself.

There is so much to know and understand about Monk Fruit. For example, I didn't know that the percentage of mogrosides affects flavor. I didn't know what mogrosides were or what a higher percentage even meant. I bought the 50% mogroside V 2.7 oz size, just out of curiosity, and am blown away by the difference. I've been merrily, obliviously, buying 7% mogroside V Monk Fruit and just accepting that the bitter, slightly chemical taste is part of the deal. Also, it is WAY less expensive, so... no brainer. Except that I finally looked into what mogrosides are, and specifically mogroside V, which is the compound responsible for the sweetness. The higher the percentage of MV, the "cleaner" the extract tastes. Additionally, mogrosides in general have been found to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Plus! Pure Monk Fruit extract might be good for your gut! Mogrosides, early studies show, might act as a prebiotic, and might be beneficial to metabolic health. I know I sound like a salesperson for this company or a rep for the Monk Fruit lobby (is there one?), but I assure you that I have only personal interest: I have ADHD, and any form of sugar - maple, table, date, beet root - makes my brain completely fry out. I mean, my whole personality changes, my thoughts change - it's like I turn into Hyde, and it takes DAYS for my brain to regain homeostasis. And it doesn't take much sugar, either: one cookie. One piece of 85% dark chocolate. One piece!! Yeah, and days of crazy thinking. So, I've been personally invested in finding out how I can have sweet without sugar, AND without sugar alcohols like erythritol, which upset my stomach. Monk Fruit has been a miracle. And if I can get sweet taste AND health benefits instead of crazy brain?? Unbelievable. By the way, as a PSA, if you know someone with ADHD and they eat a lot of sugar, gently suggest they try any form of Monk fruit that they can afford. Seriously. Most people with ADHD have a negative response to sugar because it affects the dopamine levels in the brain. The dopamine level in ADHD brains is typically already deficient, and sugar will quickly, after the first high, cause the brain to lower already deficient dopamine levels to below baseline. Most brains do this, it's part of how our brains self-regulate, but normal people have normal dopamine levels and don't necessarily have the same degree of mental fallout from eating too much sugar. Thanks for reading! And thanks to all of the Monk fruit companies who are producing this incredible sweetener. I hope it's not, you know, destroying the planet.🤞 i don't know anything about how monk fruit is grown and what the effect of its popularity has been on the area where it's grown.