The Effect of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Addition Percentages and Brewing Duration on The Characteristics of Tamarind Turmeric Drink

Abstract

The leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant have glycoside compounds including stevioside and  rebaudioside A which can be used as natural sweeteners to replace the artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.  This sweetener has a sweetness level of 200-300 times that of sucrose, so it can be used as a non-calorie  sweetener. One way to take advantage of these leaves is to brew directly on certain products. This study aims  to determine the effect of the addition percentage and the duration of brewing stevia leaves on the  characteristics of tamarind turmeric drink and determine the appropriate treatment to produce the best  tamarind drink. This study used a randomized block design with two factors. The first factor is the percentage  of addition of stevia leaves with 4 levels, namely 15, 20, 25 and 30%. The second factor is the length of brewing  with 3 levels, namely 2, 3 and 4 minutes. The results showed that the treatment of the percentage of addition  of stevia leaves had an effect on vitamin C levels and antioxidant activity of IC50. The treatment duration of  brewing had an effect on the level of vitamin C, while the interaction between the percentage of addition and  the duration of brewing had an effect on the ranking of sweetness and the preference for sour turmeric drink..  The addition of 15% stevia leaf powder by brewing for 2 minutes resulted in the best tamarind turmeric drink  with the characteristics of IC50 namely 15.78 + 0.38 mg/ml, vitamin C level specifically 14.02 + 1.15 mg AAE/g  extracts and ph was 3.33 + 0.18 and the sweet and hedonic taste ratings are slightly sweet and slightly likable,  respectively.