It’s a new year, which means a new Pantone color: Mocha Mousse. I admit, much as last year I like the idea of the color, and the visuals surrounding the color, but not the literal paint chip. However, it means I get to delve into brown inks this year which is fun, because I don’t have many of those!
First let’s start with Mocha Mousse:
So the color is a medium brown, with a hint of red/pink to it? (I’m not good at color theory!)
The first ink I thought might be an ok match (darn you computer screens) is Diamine Blue Edition Gingerbread (50mL for $17). In the ink swatch online I thought maybe the red tones would match a little. Now that I look at them, I don’t think that as much.
Gingerbread is a medium brown ink with more of a yellow undertone. It is warm and toasty, and shades nicely. In writing, it looks a bit different depending on the nib you’re using and how much ink is flowing:
But it’s definitely too dark, and more yellow.
In terms of browns I have in my stash of swatches, I went looking for something a bit redder.
Robert Oster Toffee has a bit of tone right, but is still largely too dark. Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi doesn’t look bad in the lighter sections. And the little bits of J. Herbin Caroube de Chypre that work are those two little reddish bits at the top corners, but of course the sheen is all wrong.
All in all, not a great sampling eh? Stay tuned for more to come!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
- Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
- Swatches: Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15), Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Wearingeul Ink Color Chart Cards ($8)
- Ink: Diamine Blue Edition Gingerbread (50mL for $17)
Sailor Manyo Aka-Mai might be close?
I bet Ferris Wheel Press would have a color to match the Pantone Mocha, but of course it will probably have shimmer. If I like the base color of a FWP Shimmer, I have been just not shaking up the bottle and inking my fine nib pens from the top of the bottle. I look forward to you updating us if you find a good match.
Diamine Gingerbread is such a nice color! I feel like Robert Oster Chocolate Pudding would be a close match especially when doing an ink swatch 🙂 I remember trying it over the holidays and it’s a nice lighter brown!