I trust Rancho Gordo and Zürsun. The upside is their beans are always fresh. The tradeoff is that they often run out partway through the year.
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I tried Principato di Lucedio chickpeas recently. As good as I’ve had, maybe the best.
http://www.zursunbeans.com/beans/
Some brands and the ones from the Berkeley Bowl bulk section sometimes won’t get creamy no matter how long I soak and how long I simmer.
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I am a big fan of Rancho Gordo . I made a great pot of cranberry beans .
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Buying dried chickpeas is tricky! Old chickpeas won’t ever get soft, it’s so frustrating. When I get a good batch, I cook them all, then put them in the freezer in pint containers. Then I don’t have to worry about sourcing chickpeas for a while.
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Maybe the brand isn’t the issue. The first batch of Principato di Lucedio chickpeas I cooked a couple of weeks ago, I salted the soaking water and they were perfect and creamy after an hour of simmering. The other half of the package I soaked in unsalted water and they’re still grainy after 90 minutes.
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Good to know, thanks. That is a very useful hint.
Koda farms, more well known for their rice, has great tiny chick peas.
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Yes. Just got hip to these recently. They are also way more reasonably priced than you’d expect.
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Okay, finally, a kinda’ sorta’ definitive answer to the burning question - to soak or not to soak? Courtesy of the newsletter from Steve @ranchogordo Beans.
Thanks Steve. I’m going with this one.
P.S. He also says, don’t forget about beans during the hot months. Use a slow cooker, then put them in a salad. 
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The other burning question - to salt the bean/pea water or not to salt the bean/pea water? It appears we now know the answer to the chickpeas.
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