This is a very subtly shaded ink, so it is difficult to capture in a scan. The color is very much like the color of a child's powdered hot cocoa, the kind with powdered milk. It is a medium darkish, gray brown. The ink's properties are excellent. Shading is somewhat prominent. The ink could be used in a variety of settings, from casual correspondence to business. I have attached a scan, but, because of the subtle coloring and because I increased the saturation somewhat in order to match the actual scanned example, the scan is only an approximate reflection of the actual color. (Paper is 22lb HP.)

Whoa, almost the perfect ink if you wanted to create some documents that look like they were written decades ago. Thanks for the review.

Edited to add that the great aspect of a PDF scan is that you can zoom in so as to get a close view of the shading. Nice!

Nice color indeed! It reminds me a lot of the R&K Sepia only without quite so much gray tint....

Very nice... thanks!

Very nice, thanks. It looks somewhat like the scrawl I made from a bottle of it at a penshow a couple years back. The Peartree Pens ink sampler bottle, though, contained a washed-out, pencil-gray fluid (yes, I shook it first), so perhaps it's one of those colors that vary by batch?

Very nice, but I've just ordered 6 bottles of J.Herbin from PenAndCo so this one will have to wait a while

This is a very eye-friendly colour, pleasant to read, despite it is not high contrast.

It has the cool brownish-grey colour of modern furniture.

Wow! Thanks for the review, the Cacao du Brésil scans that I saw so far all left me cold but this one is really attractive!

One of my favorite ink is Herbin Lie de Thé, your review lead me to think another brown is coming home

P.S. +1 On the PDF and a very nice high res scan!

That's odd-- that sounds very like the colour that's left on the paper after Lis de The writing gets soaked with water. Perhaps some sort of thermal insult during shipping?

Thanks for the kind words folks.

As for changed colors, I'm beginning to think that all sorts of changes--primarily including age, contamination, and temperature extremes in shipment or storage--can affect the color of many inks. My experience is limited, but I've had three reddish inks all change over time--Pelikan brown, which was subjected to freezing temperatures; Sailor red-brown, which is still wonderful but more brown and less red than when it was new, less than one year ago; and PR Burgundy Mist, which became decidedly more black and less red over six to nine months. I have had several bottles of J. Herbin's brown colors that surprised me, particularly the Lie de The, which appeared far lighter than I expected. And many blue-blacks are known for changing hue over time, whether in or out of the bottle. I can only suggest trying a new bottle of whatever color you think you might like.

This is a different point, but some inks, including some of the Herbin colors, change after they dry on the page, but I think that is delilberate. Vert Empire and Poussiere de Lune, for example, both change to a slightly duskier, grayer hue. In fact, a comparison of Vert Empire and MB's British Racing Green after both have dried is completely different from comparing them wet. Wet, BRG is blacker and VE is greener; but dried, BRG has a more pronounced yellow tinge and VE becomes darker/grayer. Or at least that's how it appeared here.

That or just the mystery of ink ... odd that Lie de Thé should come up in this thread a couple times -- my Peartree Pens ink sampler revealed the off-green color that has appeared in some but not all images of the color posted on FPN . Perhaps some colors are also more volatile, like PR Burgundy Mist. On the other hand, I am very happy that my Zhivago and Tahitian Pearl inks seem far less black to me than they did a couple years ago. Of course, that could be my eyes grasping at nuances nowadays!

If you use this ink on Moleskine paper, the product looks like something out of an archive, especially if you use a stub nib.

Thanks for the review!
I love this colour, and find it doesn't feather on any of my notebooks. I expected something a lot deeper when I ordered the ink, but now really like the faded look of it. especially after it dries (just like the Poussiere de Lune which also greys in a lovely archival way, although I find this ink does feather on moleskine paper...)

Lie de Thé goes from a very light brown to a very dark one depending on the pen it is in. In my Arco it is very light for example while in my Bologna (one of my wettest pen) it is very dark.

Many inks shows dramatic color difference depending on the pen but from my limited experience with Herbin inks I would say (due to their lower dye concentration) that they are the ones that varies the most.

Very nice review. The scan looks great. As a matter of fact I'm trying some. Took advantage of the swisher holiday sale to buy some ink.

Very nice review, JN--excellent sample too! I like how this has a grayish cast to a sepia base, as opposed to the more common red/brown cast. I haven't gotten into any J.Herbin inks yet, but I'm becoming very tempted when seeing review like this.

Oh MAN! I've gotta get a bottle of that. Thanks for the scan, I love the subtle look of that brown.

that is one very nice ink. I have not tried jherbin inks but this scan is enough convincing to go buy one bottle of jherbin ink.

I got a sample of this ink (from Pear Tree) and it looks gray, the brown does not show at all. I'm surprised...

Ditto, and a sample of Lie de The was yellow greenish.

I bought a bottle of Cacao that had been sitting in the store for a few years, and it was gray. I did try a sample mixed with some Pelikan Brown, which was actually pretty nice, but ultimately ended up returning the bottle. It had something of a vinegary odor, and I didn't want to chance growing a batch of mold.

On the other hand, my Pear Tree Pens' sample of Lie de The is very nice, light brown with a hint of light green. It's in a Lamy Vista, medium nib, and shades pretty nicely.

Perhaps Herbin inks need to be stored in a cool, dry place?

Best,
Jon

Thanks to your excellent review, cacao du Brésil became one of my inks of choice. Your scan on my screen is very accurate in real life. A full page of notes in this colour is neither boring nor fatiguing to the eyes, wich can't be said of much brown inks.

Thanks. I'm glad you are enjoying the color. It's become one of my standards, too.

Thank you for doing this review. I routinely use a number of Herbin inks, but have not tried Cacao du Bresil. I am now convinced I should get a bottle.

On my monitor, there is the slightest bit of green in the sample of your writing. Is this something that is truly there in real life?

You're welcome.

What you are seeing is an artifice of the scan. To my eyes there is not the slightest hint of green in the ink. Unfortunately, when preparing the scan I had to choose between slightly altering the color or having the sample look too faint. Since the saturation of Herbin inks is often an issue with some people, I wanted to show that this ink was moderately saturated, slightly darker than lighter. Unfortunately, the cost was presenting the hue as slightly yellower than it is in real life (and the saturation still looks fainter than it really is). That is the green cast you described. It is not really there. The color of the ink is unusual, but it is crisp and clean.

Hmm i have a bottle but it is much more washed out than that, seems more like a very pale grey, sort ok like when you are washing black out of a pen and get to the last few drops...

I keep hoping it will be browner...so i keep it then try again and no luck...

I just received a sample of this ink from Peartreepens and it's color has nothing to do with the scan. This sample is a pale gray. It does not have any brown in it. It could be that the color changes over time, or something like that. I see that others have had a similar experience. Gigi

I've used Cacao du Bresil in cartridges - they PDF is really close to what I was getting out of my pens. Haven't used it in bottle, as I found it a bit cool for my taste at the time (prefer the slightly warmer Cafe Des Iles). I've never had any major colour shifts of any of my J Herbin inks - that being said I think the oldest is only about 1 year and a half. They live in a cool, dark basement in the box - not sure if storage has anything to do with it.

This is one of my all-time favourite inks; just bought a second bottle today.
I love both the unusual colour (a mysterious mix of brown, gray and lilac),
and how well behaved this ink is.

"a mysterious mix of brown, gray and lilac" That's a perfect and nice description of this ink.

This ink was on my list to try. Now I have no choice but to get a sample! PearTreePens here I come!

Mike