Spicy Element Sichuan Dried Red Chili Pepper - Er Jing Tiao 7.05 oz for Sichuan Cuisine and Hot Pot

I bought these Er Jing Tiao chilis in hopes of making Chinese-style Chili Oil with lots of flavor but not too much heat. They work very well for this purpose, and I have now ordered them multiple times.The Good: The chilis are pliable and have a great aroma; they appear to be very fresh. All of the bags I have received so far contain very few partial/broken pieces, and the chilis are a good size--about the size of Guajillo chilis, if you are accustomed to those. I haven't tried using the Er Jing Tiao chilis in a Mexican-style preparation yet so I can't comment on flavor similarities.The Less Good: These chilis are super dusty/dirty. As I mentioned above, they are pliable and very aromatic, so I doubt it's literal dust--Im guessing they are just minimally processed from field to bag. If you're going to reconstitute them in hot water and then toss the soaking water, this probably isn't a big deal, but if you plan to dry them out and grind them into chili flakes (as I do) then be ready to wipe them down thoroughly with a cloth before using them. Also, of the three bags I have received of these chilis, one was very tightly vacuum-packed and the other two were slack. I didn't notice any difference in quality so I'm guessing the original seal was broken during packing/shipping, but if you are intending to buy in bulk and keep them around for a while, be aware that if the bag you receive isn't vacuum-sealed it will probably have a shorter shelf life than what is indicated on the packaging.The Metrics: I've uploaded some photos for comparison, but for those of you who are curious about yields, one ~200g bag of chilis yields just over ~125g chili flesh after cleaning, trimming, and removing all seeds and membrane. ~62.5% yield

as advertised