> The package is a dispenser -- push inward on the green "trigger" on the lower right side of the package, and one tablet (or fragment), drops out of the bottom. You don't have to touch the tablets.
> You can also remove the cap at the top, but that isn't easy to do, and you risk the entire contents flying around if you try. I'm still finding little white pills in two different rooms in my home from the two times I've taken off the cap. It is best to sit down at a table, and slowly pry up the cap with a dull knife.
> Like everyone else complains, many of the tablets were badly broken or reduced to powder.
> Baking soda is the first listed ingredient (meaning that it is the major ingredient). That's why the tablets fizz when added to a beverage. Presumably that's why the stevia tastes weird to me (I've used a dozen brands for a dozen years --- so I know what stevia should taste like). But, at least knowing that the odd flavor is harmless baking soda means that I expect to adjust to the flavor easily. Citric acid is the second listed ingredient, (apparently intended to counteract the backing soda flavor) meaning that there is more citric acid than stevia --- Implying that the tablets are at least 60% baking soda and citric acid.
> Not as sweet as I expected, presumably because the stevia content is less than the baking soda and sodium citrate contents. The tablets are very small, and stevia is only a minor component of the tablets.
> Dissolves quickly, at least in hot liquids (because of the baking soda), but not always completely. I'd rather use harder tablets that I have to stir for a few seconds.
> I'm gonna at least try several other brands of stevia tablets before I consider reordering "Stevia In The Raw" tablets.
UPDATE: I adjusted to the "different" flavor very quickly. Tablets, or fragments of tablets, tend to form floating islands which are difficult to dissolve.
> The tablets worked great for 1 cup of coffee at a time when going out for meals in restaurants. However, I purchased the tablets primarily for a 2-week European cruise --- partly because I did not want to travel with white powder in my suitcase. Unfortunately, the remaining 80, or so, tablets lasted only about 6 days, when used in coffee, tea, and unsweetened ice tea, etc. when traveling.
> When I returned from that trip, the "So Sweet" brand tablets that I had also ordered had finally arrived (very late). My first impression of the "So Sweet" tablets, was that they were less fragmented, the dispenser is much larger and less convenient, they may be less sweet per tablet, but the tablets dissolved quicker. "So Sweet" tablets do not work in a (smaller, more convenient) "In the Raw" dispenser.
UPDATE: What looks like an identical product has come on the market with the "Splenda" brand. Splenda stevia? Sounds confusing. It's Stevia, not Splenda. The Splenda Stevia comes in an identical (to Stevia in the raw) but larger, dispenser, the tablets are much larger, and there are fewer tablets/dispenser (80 instead of 100). That means that one dispenser is good for 20 cups of coffee for me (at 4 tablets per cup). The Splenda Stevia is not as friable (the tablets are mostly whole tablets, not mostly pieces and powder), does not contain baking soda, but devolves faster in hot coffee or tea. (Which really makes me scratch my head wondering why the heck baking soda is an Steavia in the Raw --- as far as I can tell, it makes the tablets harder to dissolve). That implies that most (probably well over 80% of each Splenda Stevia tablet is filler. Why the heck do the stevia companies feel compelled to use fillers, when smaller tablets with less filler are more desirable?). Overall, with a few pros and cons, the Splenda Stevia is now my first choice.