the thing is that when you add the tahini to salad dressing or hummus it adds a very creamy texture and its taste is not noticable. also something odd happens when you add tahini and bsm together, its like the bitterness from each cancel out the bittern from the other and you get something really unique!! of coures this is the standard tan colored tahini, now that you pointed that black stuff out to me, i may just have to give it a try.