Making Stevia Extract from Fresh Leaves

I've never made my own extracts before. Here goes the stevia experiment … This is MY experience based on instructions found at http://www.commonsensehome.com/stevia-grow-your-own-sweetener/.

First, I cut the plant back to allow and encourage branching. This will result in more leaves later this summer.

I stripped all the leaves from the stems. I rinsed the leaves in cool water, then spun them out to dry in the salad spinner. (BTW … I could not live without my salad spinner!)

The leaves were very clean, but I did find a few of these guys hanging out … some sort of leaf hopper?

I packed the leaves into a quart-sized glass canning jar. I poured the cheapest vodka I could find over the leaves, making sure they were all submerged. It took the entire 750 ml bottle (i.e. a fifth of vodka which is 4/5 of a quart).

I screwed the lid on and put it to rest for two days in the cool, dark pantry, with plans to gently jiggle or shake the jar a couple times per day.

To be continued ...