(If at any point in this review, I accidentally call this ink Forgotten Iced Tea, I apologize in advance. The color reminds me more of iced tea than iced coffee so I have it in my brain that that’s what its called.)
Along with the release of the much-coveted Esterbrook Estie collab with TheCoffeeMonstersCo, Esterbrook also released some companion products like the Forgotten Iced Coffee ink ($16.95 for 30ml bottle).
The “ingredients” on the back of the box are a bit misleading. As far as I can tell there are no sparkles or shimmer in this ink. The presence of actual coffee, ice and oat milk are up for debate. Seriously though, the ingredients are charming but this is a standard, shading ink with no shimmer or scent so don’t worry.
In my full color swatch, the color of this ink looks brown-er than it appears in person. There is a lof of shading and a slight green cast to the brown tone. Its a complex, low saturation color.
Writing Swatch:
The ink shades beautifully and even looks legible in a fine nib pen. The more I write with it, the more I enjoy the range of color, shading and the slight hints of grey, green, purple in the color.
Ink Color Comparisons:
I’m a little shocked that I keep finding inks that I can’t find any dupes of inks lately. I found inks that feel like they are in the same family but different. Sailor Rikyu-Cha is more yellowy-green undertones, Mont Blanc Swan Illusion (no longer available, don’t shoot me) is more brown which makes it easier to see how Forgotten Iced Coffee is more cool brown-ish. Melon Tea is darker, more saturated but was the first ink I thought to compare — tea vs. coffee!
Final Take:
I was iffy about this color when I originally saw it thinking it was a little dull (low saturation) and maybe too light for fine nibs but after playing around with the ink, I really like. It’s different and I’m really into brownish inks these days. I don’t think this ink will be around forever so grab it while you can.
Tools:
- Paper: Odyssey Notebooks A5 Grid 68gsm Tomoe River and Ink Swatching Guidesheets
- Pens: Dominant Industry Ink Muddler, Sailor Hocoro Dip Pens, Zebra G Dip Nib and Tachikawa T-40 Nib Holder
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Dromgoole’s for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
When I saw the writing samples, I thought of J Herbin Cacao du Bresil ink.