The Bottom Line
If you are looking for a sugar substitute that actually tastes like sugar without the bitter or overwhelming aftertaste of any other packet sweetener, Sun Crystals is going to be a nice surprise.
Sun crystals have been discontinued, due to unmet sales expectations, but they are still widely available. If you enjoy the taste of this product, now is the time to buy them and keep them in the pantry.
Pros
- Sweet taste with only a hint of stevia
- The granulated variety can be used in cooking-foods will brown nicely
- Not a chemical derivative of stevia, just sugar and stevia
- Up to three packets remain a free food for diabetics
- The granulated variety pours and feels, bakes and looks like sugar-not powder
Cons
- As all sugar substitutes are, it is expensive
- Packets have a bitter aftertaste
Description
- Nice sugary taste, no aftertaste in the granules
- Bakes the same as sugar
- Although sweeter than sugar, not a hint of bitter aftertaste in the granules. The packets did have some bitterness.
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Guide Review - Sun Crystals Sugar Substitute
(Updated October 2011) Sun Crystals have been discontinued, due to unmet sales expectations)
I purchased both varieties of Sun Crystals straight from the website. One was for cooking and the other was packaged in small packets for travel.
After waiting a short 48 hours, the Sun Crystals arrived by FedEx. My initial taste of each product was that they were extremely sweet. We do not use much sweetener in our diets, so using one as concentrated as this seemed quite strong. The packets still contained a bitter aftertaste, but was the lightest aftertaste of any of them to date. I believe this is due to the high concentration of stevia. The American culture has become used to overly sweetened foods in everything we ingest, so it would have been important to pack every speck of sweetness into each granule, in order for mainstream America to accept the taste.
The granulated product was exceptional. It was again, super sweet, but tasted only of white sugar. I tried it in ice tea and coffee, both simply were sweet, nothing bitter.
I then baked coffee cake muffins for the entire family. Not one mention of an aftertaste from anyone. The muffins browned as they usually do, and the taste was sweeter than normal, but still nice. Sun Crystals were a nice alternative to using honey or maple syrup to sweeten things. My family didn't mind the taste, and I like the 1 to 1 ratio when baking. It's a shame they no longer make this product. I would still be using it today.