Every once in a while we get a customer who tries to get the beans to be beautiful once they've been cooked. I've always said it's nature's joke. They're pretty when they're raw and once you cook them, the the looks go but the payoff is the flavor. Black Calypsos are really interesting-looking beans when raw and there is a short window when they retain their markings as they go from black to tan to ecru. It's not much but it's something. The real reason to cook them is the flavor. Black Calypso beans have a mild potato flavor so so they go great with pancetta and sage, or maybe strong olive oil and rosemary. They look lilke our old friend, the Vaquero bean, but unfortunately they're not a good substitute.