it could be your spices i make mine in a pressure cooker i add 1 lb beans salt and about double the water cook on high till it whistles about 20-30 min then turn it off and let it sit about 45 min to 1 hr and they come out perfect every time i no longer use spices in it when i cook them they come out better tasting you can always add spices when they are done but you wont need to i highly recommend if you dont have a pressure cooker to get one i only use it for my beans and it was work the money saves time and taste better they are pretty cheap depending on the size too