CBD oil is made from an extract from the hemp plant. But that extract is not consumed in its pure form. It’s often diluted with another oil to produce a liquid that you can add to food or drop under your tongue. The extract can even be added to other products, such as skin creams and lotions.
If you want to buy CBD oil and take it orally, though, you might wonder what does CBD oil taste like? it tastes like. The flavor is influenced by the way that the CBD is extracted and the oil that it’s mixed with. Different brands and types of CBD have distinct tastes.
What Does CBD Oil Taste Like
CBD Taste Profile
CBD is one of the most abundant cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. It’s found in hemp as well as marijuana plants. Nowadays, growers breed plants with varying levels of CBD, depending on the way that they plan to use the final product.
Hemp plants cannot legally contain more than 0.03 percent THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. Therefore, hemp plants have a higher CBD-to-THC ratio than marijuana.
To understand what CBD tastes like, it helps to be familiar with the makeup of a cannabis plant. CBD and THC are the two primary molecules found in cannabis.
Cannabis contains more than 400 chemical compounds other than CBD and THC. Only about 61 are considered cannabinoids.
In their pure form, CBD and THC are tasteless. The flavor of a cannabis plant comes from the terpenes, which are some of the other chemical compounds in cannabis.
But CBD products aren't always made with terpenes. Therefore, some oils and tinctures are flavorless.
What Are Terpenes?
Terpenes are found in every plant on the planet. They’re responsible for the way that the plants taste and smell. The terpenes are aromatic compounds that are located in the oils of the plant.
Cannabis plants produce at least 100 terpenes. The types of terpenes that a plant produces are largely dependent on the environment. Growers can influence the terpene content of a cannabis plant by adjusting the light, humidity and temperature.
That’s one reason that growing environments should be standardized. One strain of hemp can have varying flavors if it’s grown in two different environments.
CBD oil’s taste relies on the terpenes that are infused in the oil or produced by the plant that is used to make the oil. Terpenes can give the oil the following flavors:
- Citrus
- Pine
- Fruit
- Pepper
- Herbs
But the extract must include terpenes in order to produce these tastes and aromas. The terpenes also increase the benefits of the oil. Various terpenes have different actions, which is one reason why many people prefer full-spectrum CBD to CBD isolate.
Difference Between Full-Spectrum CBD and CBD Isolate
As we mentioned earlier, CBD isolate has no flavor. To produce CBD isolate, manufacturers start by extracting the oil from the plant. The CBD extract is further purified and filtered. All plant particles and other “impurities” are removed.
However, those impurities have beneficial properties. If you remove the waxes, terpenes, flavonoids and chlorophyll from the CBD plant, which isolate manufacturers do, you potentially reduce some of the effectiveness of the product.
Full-spectrum CBD products, on the other hand, include many plant compounds. Therefore, it might have more beneficial qualities. It also has a stronger taste.
What Do Full-Spectrum CBD Oils Taste Like?
The terpenes are partly responsible for the flavor of CBD oils. But you shouldn’t expect a strain with fruity terpenes to taste like a cherry lollipop.
CBD oils generally taste earthy and herbal. If a product tastes like candy, it probably contains artificial flavors, which detract from the product’s benefits.
The oil that CBD is diluted with affects its flavor profile too. CBD is added to carrier oils so that the product can be easily consumed and its dosage can be regulated. The most common carrier oils are:
- MCT oil – Unrefined coconut oil, which is largely tasteless
- Hemp oil – Has a grassy, herbal flavor
- Olive oil – Mild olive, fruity flavor
When manufacturers create CBD oils with hemp as a carrier, they can have a very strong flavor. Hemp oil is one of the most flavorful carrier oils. On the other hand, MCT and olive oil produce milder aromas and tastes. If you don’t like the nutty, piney, grassy flavor of hemp oil, you might prefer a product that uses MCT oil as its base.
The carrier oil also influences the effectiveness of the product.
How to Add Flavor to CBD Oils
Many of the terpenes found in cannabis are quite pungent. Some people find CBD oils to be bitter or overpowering. Therefore, manufacturers may add other aromatics, such as essential oils, to enhance the flavor profile.
High-quality essential oils are natural products. At Sabaidee, we use peppermint oil to mask the pungent earthy flavor and make our CBD oils taste refreshing.
To be honest, not many people are huge fans of CBD oil's flavor. It’s an acquired taste for most.
If you try another brand’s CBD oil and it tastes absolutely delicious, you might wonder what types of fillers or additives they’re using. At Sabaidee, we aim to create products that are as effective as possible. We avoid using artificial ingredients. We make our CBD oils taste as great as possible using the pleasant, natural flavor of peppermint.
One of the best ways to use our CBD oils is to drop the product under your tongue and hold it there for several seconds before swallowing it. If you rinse your mouth out afterward, you reduce the effectiveness of the product. We try to make our CBD oils as naturally appetizing as possible so that you don’t have to dilute the concentration with a chaser.
Consumers who don’t like the taste of CBD oils may want to take CBD in a different format. You can apply topical products to your skin and bypass the need to taste the oil altogether.
You can also place the oil inside of a gelatin capsule and swallow it. However, the results might last longer than when you take the oil sublingually.
Some people simply hold their nose as they take CBD. Others mix it with something sweet, such as honey. We hope that you enjoy the flavor of our CBD tinctures so much that you don’t have to mask it. If you must, try brushing your teeth before using the product or sucking on a breath mint afterward.
It’s our mission to provide you with high-quality, great-tasting CBD products that you can feel confident about. We’re transparent about our business practices and put our products through rigorous testing so that you know exactly what you’re getting.
Our hemp is sustainably grown on a Colorado farm. We use proprietary techniques to retain the beneficial ingredients and filter out the undesirable ones. When you buy CBD oil from us, you get a product that contains only what it says it does and is free of pesticides, solvents and heavy metals. Plus, it has good vibes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should CBD oil have a taste?
Whichever consumption method you choose, you'll taste the flavor of the CBD oil
Is CBD oil tasteless?
CBD isolate is both tasteless and odorless
What Flavors Do you Use for Your CBD Oil?
At Sabaidee, we use peppermint oil to mask the pungent earthy flavor and make our CBD oils taste refreshing.
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