Review by Laura Cameron
I typically don’t use brown ink, so when I got the opportunity to review Diamine’s 150th Anniversary in Espresso (€7.85 via Appelboom), I welcomed the opportunity.
Espresso is a dark, dark brown, the color of dark chocolate and espresso beans.
Interestingly enough, I liked the ink more wet than dry. When wet it just appear more full bodied, but dry I feel like the effect is a bit flat.
While I could see quite a bit of shading, I got no sheen from this one. Just dark, dark brown.
The performance of Espresso is similar to other inks I have reviewed from Diamine. It is not too wet, nor too dry. It flows easily and readily through my nibs.
As I said previously, I found Espresso a bit matte for my tastes. It was probably closest to a saturated Noodler’s Rome Burning. Platinum Classic Khaki Black appeared somewhat similar, but the Khaki Black has more yellow and green tones. Overall, I found that I prefer the warmer browns like Monteverde Brown Sugar and Diamine Chocolate Brown.
- Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80).
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
- Ink: Diamine’s 150th Anniversary in Espresso (€7.85 or approximately $9.38)
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Appelboom for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Me too — I like Brown Sugar better…