I'm not sure if this belongs in the ink reviews, as I have a question... Mods, if it doesn't belong here, please move it!

I just bought a bottle of Cacao du Bresil, and was expecting a dark, 'cool' brown, as opposed to a warm reddish brown. What I got instead is GREY. I've tried it with three pens and the same thing. The residue on the cap also looks black/grey, and wiping the nibs with kleenex still only yields grey. Not even a hint of brown.

Has anyone else had this happen to them with Cacao du Bresil? Or did I get a bad batch or maybe there was a mixup at the ink factory? I'm not sure what the shop's refund/exchange policy is, but I rather doubt that they'll let me bring back something like ink... Should I look into contacting the company itself? Help!

Sabrina

Sabrina, I've only tried a sample of it but it was greyish, too.

Cacao du Bresil is a strange ink... I found after time, the brown did disappear, and I was left with a dark grey-black.

Maybe the bottle needs shaking... from memory, there isn't a lot of brown in Cacao du Bresil to begin with though; it really seemed more a brown-toned grey ink.

Thanks for your input everyone... *sigh* How disappointing! Between this and Lie de The, I just haven't had much luck with the J. Herbin brown inks Now to see if this store's exchange policy holds for inks...

I personally don't like Herbin's inks in general. Sabrina, have you tried Waterman's Havana Brown? It does retain its color and it's a rich brownish-red.

Sonia, I haven't tried Havana Brown, although it does seem to be a favourite among many. Right now I'm craving more of a cooler brown, but I'm sure I'll want to try it later

Just out of curiosity, why is it that you don't like the Herbin colours? I've heard that some people find them to be too washed out. The drying time also seems to be a bit longer than with the other inks I've tried.

I just purchased a bottle of the Cacao du Bresil the weekend before last.Went to a delightful shoppe in Bridgeport Village in Tigard,Oregon and these it sat.
I have the same issue that others here have had in tat it is more of a grey than a brown.But i don't dislike the colour.

Now Herbin has a Vert Olive which i adore!In fact i have it today in my musk green Visconti Van Gogh.This is my favourite J.Herbin ink so far.

They are a bit expensive though.


JD

I have the Vert Reseda from J. Herbin and never use it. It's really toe weak an ink for me.

I recently tried a sample of Cacao du Bresil, and initially had the same experience - it was grey when swiped with a cotton swab, and when I dipped a couple different fine nibs in it. But when I tried it with my medium nib Phileas, the brown shades came out, at least on some Staples cheap notepaper.

Mike