Not sure what I’m tasting. Was trying new things that were supposed to be spicy. I often use habanero and ghost pepper. This is far less aggressive. Decent flavor. I now use it when marinating. In my experience, that’s where this shines.I purchased this for a recipe that I love to make that has almonds, bacon, beer and brown sugar. This adds the perfect amount of spice!I like this spice mixture, but it is definitely not like other berbere I have had. I have only used berbere from Ethiopian and Moroccan markets, so this just might not be as authentic. Or, maybe, the blends really do vary so much, like curry.Very mild. Berbere is supposed to be spicy. Is missing key ingredients of berbere, like Nigella seeds, ajowan, korarima. Seems to use non-Ethiopian cardamom (makes a big difference). Flavor is nice, but NOT if you want BAREBARE. Also real barebere spice is a small fraction of this price at Ethiopian grocers. It flavored my lentils nicely, but it was nothing like the mesir wat I was wanting to make with this.So many berbere spice mixes have salt as the first ingredient. Salt adds weight to a spice mix, so you actually get less spice. I found this mixture fairly authentic, although I added a little extra pepper to make it hot enough.I use it in a simple soup for Shabbat: 1. a large pkg of squash or half a small pumpkin, 2. several Tbsp. berbere spice, 3. 1/4 cup olive oil, 4. qt. soup stock, 5. naknik (kosher sausage) Warm the spice in oil to develop it. Add the squash and stock, cook until soft and squish with potato masher. Then add the cut up sausage. That's all.I have now used the Berbere blend on several dishes including Roast Quail last night. Lots of flavor and I like the fact there is no salt since I am on a very low sodium diet. Good flavor with no heat/spice which is also a plus since some in my family are sensitive to any heat in the food. IF I had one suggestion it would be make the label so it could go on a bottle or include one so I could more easily transfer to glass spice jars.Well worth the moneyFell in love with this flavor. I add a little to my roasted vegetables. It tastes soooo good.