What Does CBD Hemp Oil Taste Like?

By Jeff Gallagher, founder of Made By Hemp. Helping people find real hemp since 2013.

Hemp oil tastes earthy and grassy, and people react to it very differently. That flavor comes mostly from terpenes, which shift from harvest to harvest and farm to farm, so no two hemp oils taste quite the same. If the taste is not for you, you can mask it with coconut oil or juice, or pick a flavored tincture or a gummy instead.

Below we cover why hemp tastes the way it does, a couple of tricks we have picked up for making it easier to take, and which products actually taste good.

Why the flavor changes from brand to brand

When you switch between brands of hemp oil, do not expect the flavor to carry over. Hemp’s taste differs between harvests, and it differs between farms. Hemp is commonly grown in Europe and across the United States, and growers use different seed genetics and different methods, so the oil that comes out the other end is never quite identical.

Hemp’s flavor comes from terpenes

In general, hemp tastes like a handful of grass and dirt. “Earthy” is the word most people land on. But hemp’s flavor is far less predictable than most foods, because so much of the taste and aroma comes from terpenes.

Terpenes are a large, diverse class of aromatic compounds produced by plants. They are what give essential oils their distinctive smell and flavor. Every bottle of peppermint oil smells about the same, because it is dominated by one terpene profile. Hemp has many terpenes in play at once, and you cannot plan for exactly which ones will develop.

Whichever terpenes develop in the plant will shape how the extracted oil tastes and smells. That is why a lot of manufacturers add natural terpene profiles back in, to keep the flavor consistent from batch to batch without relying on added flavoring. When cannabinoids and terpenes are present together rather than isolated, people refer to the combined result as the entourage effect.

Even with terpenes added back, depending on your own taste buds, you may still find the flavor unpleasant. That is normal, and there are ways around it.

How to make hemp oil taste better

Over the years we have picked up a few tricks that make a daily hemp oil routine more pleasant. If you are sensitive to earthy flavors, these two are worth trying.

First, make sure you are taking it correctly. Oils and tinctures are meant to be taken sublingually: place the oil under your tongue, hold it there for about a minute, then swallow. For a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to take hemp oil.

The coconut oil trick

Hemp oil is, well, an oil. It does not mix into water, so stirring it into a drink rarely works the way you would hope. It is easier to work with hemp’s oily texture than against it, by pairing it with another good-tasting oil. The best one we have found is coconut oil.

1. Grab a spoon.
2. Scoop coconut oil into the spoon. The amount is up to you.
3. Dispense your serving of hemp oil into the center of the coconut oil.
4. Optional: add a thin layer of coconut oil on top, making a little coconut-hemp sandwich.
5. Place the spoon’s contents under your tongue.
6. Hold it there for 60 to 90 seconds. The longer, the better.
7. Swallow any remaining oil.

The juice chaser

A simpler way to cover the flavor is to chase it with a juice you like. It is worth trying a few until you find the one that works best for you. Apple cider is a good one when the season is right.

1. Dispense your serving of hemp oil under your tongue.
2. Wait 60 to 90 seconds.
3. Drink the juice as you swallow the oil. Done quickly, it is close to flavorless.

CBD hemp products that actually taste good

There is no shortage of flavored hemp products, but do any of them actually taste good? The most enjoyable way to take CBD hemp oil is usually gummies and other edibles. They are genuinely flavorful, and each one carries a pre-measured serving, so there is nothing to hold under your tongue at all.

When people who care about flavor skip edibles, it is usually for one of two reasons: they want to avoid certain ingredients, or they find edibles pricier than the alternatives.

If edibles are not right for you, a CBD tincture is the cost-effective route. These liquid drops use only a couple of ingredients to add flavor. Our own Hemp Extract drops come in several flavors and are the best-tasting tincture we make.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.