[ThirstyTurtle]

Usually I can get them soft (usually!), but they are always bland.

I can always get the beans soft, but I have trouble with blandness. I always soak them for about 12 hrs and then cook them on low for several hours.

I always put onion and garlic in the beans to give them some flavor. My dh was always telling me that the beans tasted fine, but they needed more salt to bring out the flavor. We have conflicting tastes on the amount of salt that food needs (he likes a lot, I like none or very little), so I didn't believe him at first because he says EVERYTHING needs more salt. So I was lamenting again that my beans were too bland and my dh was trying to convince me they were absolutely perfect once he added salt (while adding 2x more salt to his bowl of beans than what I put in the whole pot). So he convinced me to taste his modified version of my beans. I was expecting to have a mouthful of salt, but instead I was surprised that they tasted just right with the extra salt. So now I let him salt the beans because I am so afraid of oversalting the food, and now they aren't so bland anymore.