Great stuffI got this to soothe an irritated digestive tract and a skin condition. I expected it to taste like, well, like something I had to take. I added some to my oatmeal and was very pleasantly surprised. It actually had taste and the taste was good. I started adding it to all kinds of dishes, sprinkling it over rice, yogurt, etc., and also mixing with honey. It's really good.This powder does not thicken. In comparison to other brands I have it does not thicken. I took a cup of water...brought it to boiling....then added 2 or 3 teaspoons of powder to the water and continued to stir on the stove for about 5 minutes. I brought it to a boil and then lowered temperature.Other brands always thicken after a few minutes.This brand failed to do so even after cooking for 5 minutes.I cannot recommend this brand as the whole point of it is to obtain a thick mucilage which this brand failed to doSlippery elm is used for its mucilage property, is light in color and comes from the inner bark of the elm tree. What I received was a much darker powder most likely from the outer bark, as it had no mucilage caracteristic and was totally useless for me. I was suprised that a company with a name like "Organic traditions" would market this. Will never order from this company again.Bought this brand instead of what I've always previously ordered. I have never seen the slippery elm powder such a dark brown and it wouldn't thicken! The others were always a palish brown or beige and thicken almost immediately. So I'm wondering how pure this brand actually is??I bought some at nmy local health food store today and as before its always the same beige color and thickens. Picture above the darker brown in the jar is this brand from Amazon.Got out of hospital. Ordered this which came, quickly. Within two days my system was moving without the pain and helped heal . Best stuff ever ?