What's a reliable online source in the US for Orchiata?

[DevFox]

I ordered the pink bag from Amazon, all 3 sizes, all sealed bags, but even after a day of actually soaking it in water, it doesn't wet inside the bark pieces, and it released ALOT of dust. The water was very brown and cloudy. None of this matches the description of what Orchiata should be like, free of dust and hydrophilic, so I would like to compare with a more reliable source of Orchiata.

[Mountaineer370]

If, by "pink bag," you are referring to one that says "Dalton's" on it, that is the current manufacturer of Orchiata, so I don't know how you can find a "more reliable" source. (A company called Besgrow used to make Orchiata; they sold out to Dalton's.)

I've been using Orchiata for close to ten years, and I agree that the product is a lot more dusty today than it used to be in the past. I've ordered from this company on Amazon. They rebag it into bags with their own company name on it, but it is indeed Orchiata, and I'm happy with it.

Amazon.com

Because it is always dusty, I rinse it thoroughly before I use it. But Orchiata does not need to be soaked.

[DevFox]

The hydrophobic nature of the bark I've recieved is exactly why I'm having to question the authenticity of what I've recieved, because its been often stated that Orchiata is suppose to be hydrophilic, easily wetted, even when completely dry.

I've ordered the Dalton brand Orchiata from the Amazon vendor "Absolute Unlimited', as well as the Tezula Orchiata on Amazon, and in both cases, the dry bark will not absorb water when placed on top of water and left there overnight. Even after soaking in boiled water with Quillaja Saponaria extract, a wetting agent, it took a couple of hours for most of the bark to get wet through to the core of the pieces, and about 20% of it would not soak up water all the way through even after all that, and also remained floating at the surface.

Its possible that these vendors are selling counterfeit products, a common occurrence on Amazon. Its also possible that buyers are ordering these items, replacing the bark with lesser quality bark, sealing the bags up again and returning the bags back to Amazon as "unopened", another common occurrence on Amazon.

Its also possible that the quality of this product has gone down over the years, or that the claim that this bark can readily soak up water when in a dry state is no longer accurate , or was never accurate to begin with.

It would be very much appreciated if anyone can verify that the Orchiata they have recently acquired will absorb water all the way through when dry, and let us know the vendor you purchased it from, so I can order from them and test it out myself.

[estación seca]

I think hydrophobicity of new bark is expected. Where did you read Orchiata is easy to wet?

[DevFox]

As Mountaineer370 just stated, "Orchiata does not need to be soaked" is what's often said on forums. If you Google "Orchiata hydrophilic", you'll come across many instances of this being stated. The top result, whenever I search anything relating to this, is a statement made on the Slippertalk Oorchud forum back in 2011-

"That is the main purpose of 'aging' orchiata, to make it hydrophilic, porous, and therefore very 'receptive' to the lime and the nutrient."

I haven't been able to find this assertion being contradicted, so I'm taking it for granted that its true.

I should also note that all the bags had condensation on the plastic inside, so they were not bone dry.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by DevFox

As Mountaineer370 just stated, "Orchiata does not need to be soaked" is what's often said on forums.

In reality, Orchiata SHOULD NOT be soaked, as that tends to extract the dolomtic limestone used in the curing process.

A great many folks have switched to Kiwi Bark, which is an unaged and untreated version derived from the same Pinus radiata trees.

[DevFox]

Originally Posted by Ray

In reality, Orchiata SHOULD NOT be soaked, as that tends to extract the dolomtic limestone used in the curing process.

As you're pointing out, "should not" and "doesn't need to be" are two different things. So would you say, then, in your experience, that the claim that it doesn't require soaking because its been rendered hydrophilic in the curing process is inaccurate?