Florida Crystals Natural Raw Cane Sugar

I guess this seems like an odd review to start off with, but raw sugar is one of my favorite things in the world! If you drink tea, coffee, or bake at all, once you try raw sugar you will NEVER go back! Sure, its a little pricier- but with companies like Florida Crystals, who're certified Carbon Free and all organic, it's worth it just for that alone. And the taste... wow. Raw sugar's taste is much less artificially sweet than regular sugar- it has a little bit of a caramelly/molasses-y taste, almost like really really super light brown sugar. The flavor is soft, and not overpowering. The large crystals also dissolve extremely well in hot drinks, and they accent natural or herbal teas especially well.  Let me tell you a little bit about how I got started on raw sugar...

A few years ago, I became interested in herbal medicines and treatments. Naturally, my first stop on the natural and herbal journey was tea. I tried many teas, and I always found they were lacking something- but when I added normal sugar, it was either "barely there" or way too much, it was SO hard to find the right balance of sweetness! For some teas, honey will work... But honey isn't something I use often otherwise, so unless we take a trip out to indiana (where you can get delicious amish honey, mmmm~! ) I really don't keep it around. I saw raw sugar in the store one day, and I decided to give it a shot. Later that night after I had tried it, I was hooked!

It takes much, much less raw sugar to get the desired flavor in tea than it does normal sugar, and although it is possible to have too much and make it too sweet, the flavor of the sugar plays into the tea rather than clashing with it, so there's more room for error. Admittedly, I almost never bake- but I've used this sugar in homemade pancakes and WOW did it make a difference! It really played off of the vanilla I added, and made them much sweeter on their own than regular sugar does.

The fact that this sugar is also certified organic and, as I mentioned, Carbon free also makes me feel great about buying it. It's not often that I can afford to buy the more expensive healthier organic offerings at the store, but this sugar was priced pretty comparably. Sure, you're not going to get a five pound sack for a dollar, but it's not bad at all. It even comes in little individual serving packets now, which I think is awesome for when you're on the go but want more choices at a restaurant besides white sugar and the three most popular varieties of fake sugar.

Speaking of fake sugar, as much as I would love to love it, aspartame really kills me headache wise- its the only reason I don't drink diet soda- and the other sugar replacements have always tasted slightly off to me, almost like they're TOO sweet. So it was a major relief to find a sugar that, while it might not make me any thinner, at least its better for the environment, and it tastes WAY better than the bleached, ultra processed alternative.

I really recommend trying this out if you can find it in your local grocer. I found mine at Krogers, which is a North-eastern/mid-western US grocery chain, similar local chains might carry it as well, or there's always the online option! Due to shipping though, it's way way cheaper to buy in person.