I recently discovered xanthan gum and bought a jar to try this amazing thickener for myself. When opening the jar I however noticed a slightly "corked" smell to the powder itself. I made a thick (~5g/1L) mixture with water to see if the taste was noticable, which it was. It was also noticeable in a thinner sweet cherry dessert sauce.
All sources online refer to xanthan gum as being completely tasteless - did I just get a bad batch? For reference, the brand and specific product is Sosa Pure xantham gum.