I was inspired by Laura’s Pantone Color of the Year Mocha Mousse ink experiments and decided to try to find the most Mocha Mousse-ish pen to use in my journals. I thought it would be fun to see how these pens looked when compared with the Pantone Color of the Year.
Our favorite ink to use for comparison is the Endless Alchemy Mocha Mousse Delight to use as a color comparison.
I had a few brown gel pens and markers in my stash but I also ordered a few new ones in hopes of finding the most chocolatey colors.
The pens in the running:
- Iconic Iconic Un Jour de Rêve Gel Ink Pen 0.38 in Brown ($2.50)
- Pilot Juice 0.38 in Coffee Brown ($1.75)
- Pilot Juice Up 0.4 Brown ($3.60)
- Marvy LePen Brown ($1.80)
- Uni Pin Fineline 01 Sepia ($2.45)
- Pilot Juice Up 04 Glossy Brown ($3.60)
- Uni Ball ONE 0.38 Cappuccino Brown ($1.90)
- Zebra Mildliner Mild Beige ($1.75)
- Pentel Brush Sign Pen Pale Brown ($2.50)
- Sakura Ballsign iD 0.4 Mocha Black ($3.30)
Mostly the pens I tested were gel or fiber-tipped but I threw in two marker/highlighter pens just because I wanted to see how they looked next to the more writing pens.
I really thought the colors in the gel pens would be closer to a chocolatey tone. Some colors leaned more purply and other were darker, more espresso colored. The Zebra Mildliner and Pentel Brush Sign Pen were no where near the Mocha Mousse Delight but it was nice to see them in comparison.
Despite the name, the UniBall ONE Cappuccino Brown was too light.
I think the winner is the Pilot Juice Up in Brown. Its chocolatey with that hint of golden undertones. The color is the warmest without edging into a reddish hue.
I think the Pilot Juice in Brown is a close second but is a bit darker. Sakura Ballsign iD 0.4 Mocha Black and the Pilot Juice Up in Classic Glossy Brown is tied for third being much darker in color but feel like a dark, 75% cocoa style mocha mousse.
Do you have a favorite brown gel pen or marker?
Tools:
- Notebook: Odyssey A5 Tomoe River 68gsm Dot Grid Notebook ($49)
- Clip: Draco Metal Journal Clip $16
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
