flores.emma you're spot on about the dusty bag thing. I saw a bag there once that looked like it had been sitting since 2019. The beans were all cracked and faded looking. I still bought them cause it was only like a buck and I thought a long soak would fix them. Nope. They turned into mush on the outside but were still hard little rocks on the inside after two hours of boiling. That texture issue is real and you cant fix it with extra cooking time. So yeah I always check the bag for dust or any signs of age before buying now.
Check if they were the small kind or the big, plump ones (the size makes a huge difference for texture). That price is amazing, honestly, but I always worry about how long they've been sitting on the shelf. Dried beans can get too old and then they just never soften up right, no matter how long you cook them. Did the bag look dusty or was it clean? That's usually my tell.