Earthworm castings are generally dark and crumbly, resembling coffee grounds. But what do you mean you're not sure what you're getting... where are you getting it from?
Soil is a mixture of clay, silt, sand and humus (thoroughly decayed organic matter). Earthworm castings are basically a form of humus (as is compost). If you take a sample of soil, add water, shake it up and let it sit for a while it will separate visibly into its constituents: sand, silt, clay\humus. They are all of different particle sizes, sand being the largest on the scale and clay\humus the smallest. The sand should sink to the bottom.
Here are more in-depth instructions on how to do this:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/214.html