J Herbin - Café des îles

[yazeh]

J Herbin Café des îles

 

According to the Herbin website: 

"Café des îles (Island coffee): a light brown color reminder of the great coffee smell enjoyed at the terrace of a café in a far away island."

You be the judge 😛 

 

This is a dryish, Ovaltine colored, reddish brown, which shines on Japanese paper, mostly with Iroful and 68 gr Tomoe River Paper.  It doesn’t remind me of coffee. One can say, it's a lighter version of Private Reserve Vampire Red, but easier to clean. Surprisingly long dry time on Rhodia, so not suitable for lefty overwriters   

 

It's not a good candidate for copy paper. It ghosted and bled through Hammermill 20lb copy paper. I didn't bother to scan the horror show

 

Chroma:

 

 

 

Writing Samples:

I've added Iroful paper to the lineup. For a lot of inks, it can bring out extreme shading and enhance colours. Note this paper is very sensitive to hand oils as you can see in the Stub and flex lines. The coating has been removed and the ink doesn't adhere to the paper. 

 

Close up scan of Tomoe River and Iroful. Note how shading is accentuated in Iroful. 

Photo:

 

Comparison:

Water test:

Left side 10 seconds under running water. Paper is Mnemosyne 

 

Art Work:

Café and Ovaltine  -  What happens if you order a Café des îles coffee in a Parisian café. They'll serve you Ovaltine  

Paper is a Talens Mixed media pocket book. I used different dilutions of Café des îles. At the bottom it is most concentrated. I used a glass nib tipped in bleach to create the "foamy" part on the top. 

Noodler's Lexington Gray / Polar Green 

Rohrer and Klingner Königsblau & Helianthus with bleach 

 

 

 

·      Pens used: Lamy (Reverse EF/F/M/B, BB), Osmiroid Copperplate nib.

·      What I liked: Name. 

·      What I did not like: Color doesn’t remind me of coffee. It's a bit reddish pale for my taste. 

·       What some might not like: Dryish ink, It isn’t black coffee.   

·      Shading: Very nice on Japanese Paper, especially Iroful

·      Ghosting: Yes, on cheap paper. 

·      Bleed through: Yes, on cheap paper.

·      Flow Rate: Wet

·      Lubrication: A bit dry

·      Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

·      Start-up:  Ok

·      Saturation:  Pastel

·      Shading Potential: Great on Japanse Paper. 

·      Sheen: No. 

·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. 

·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice.

·      Staining (pen): No. 

·      Clogging: Did not notice.

·      Cleaning: Easy

·      Water resistance: decent. 

·      Availability: 10 ml, 30 ml bottles and I believe cartridges. 

 

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier  

 

 

 

[LizEF]

17 minutes ago, yazeh said:

The coating has been removed and the ink doesn't adhere to the paper. 

I suspect it's more that the oils have been absorbed and like oiled canvas, made it so the ink won't adhere to the paper.   But I could be wrong.  It may well be that the oils react with the sizing...  We may need science experiments!

 

Interesting how the ink gets redder as the nibs get broader.  I like the browner color from the UEF and EF nibs.  Also interesting that Iroful seems to reduce the red.

 

Swatch kitty: I would not want to encounter either of my kitties dosed with caffeine!

 

Watertest: Love it!!  A most talented mousey, pouring as he descends.  Very impressive.

 

Artwork: Also love it!   I predict kitty will have that froth gone in no time!

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for another very fun review!  (And for the addition of Iroful! )

[yazeh]

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I suspect it's more that the oils have been absorbed and like oiled canvas, made it so the ink won't adhere to the paper.   But I could be wrong.  It may well be that the oils react with the sizing...  We may need science experiments!

 

Since you told me about oils, I've been writing with protective gear (read : armour ) and I've had no more problems.  

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Interesting how the ink gets redder as the nibs get broader.  I like the browner color from the UEF and EF nibs.  Also interesting that Iroful seems to reduce the red.

 

For the same reason, I don't like Stub and above nibs. The inks become very pale. Iroful can save many inks, but not all. It was completely irresponsive to Monteverde Malibu Blue and Pelikan Star Ruby  

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Swatch kitty: I would not want to encounter either of my kitties dosed with caffeine!

 

Worse with with a green squirrel with Caffeine  

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Watertest: Love it!!  A most talented mousey, pouring as he descends.  Very impressive.

 

🙏

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Artwork: Also love it!   I predict kitty will have that froth gone in no time!

 

 

8 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thanks, @yazeh, for another very fun review!  (And for the addition of Iroful! )

Now, I have to look for 5 different quotes  but what we don't do, for ink and paper 😛 

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Since you told me about oils, I've been writing with protective gear (read : armour ) and I've had no more problems.  

You could just move to the desert - a few years and your skin would have no oil left to spare...

 

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Worse with with a green squirrel with Caffeine  

 

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Now, I have to look for 5 different quotes  but what we don't do, for ink and paper 😛 

  I promise not to complain if you repeat a quote, or let a longer one cross paper samples...

[Sailor Kenshin]

Aaaahhhh!  And I was just playing with this ink.  If only I could remember why...

 

I've got Terre de Feu and had a sample of Oscar Copper.  Love the quotes, the sketches, and the 'overwriter' caution.  Maybe I will get to share a cappucino with Kitteh and Mousie one of these days.

 

Thanks once again, @yazeh, for these fun and absorbing inky diaries.  

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Aaaahhhh!  And I was just playing with this ink.  If only I could remember why...

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

I've got Terre de Feu and had a sample of Oscar Copper.  Love the quotes, the sketches, and the 'overwriter' caution.  

I'm adding it. It'll help with many lefties

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Maybe I will get to share a cappucino with Kitteh and Mousie one of these days.

Please do. Or you can sing sea shanties with them  

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Thanks once again, @yazeh, for these fun and absorbing inky diaries.  

A pleasure!

[yazeh]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

You could just move to the desert - a few years and your skin would have no oil left to spare...

Good to know. Though I would think that all the water will evaporate and the oil will bubble  

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

  I promise not to complain if you repeat a quote, or let a longer one cross paper samples...

🙏

[Misfit]

Hi @yazeh I tried using this ink in a Pelikan Cafe Creme. They didn’t seem to get along. But with a drop of Vanness’ White Lightning in the 10ml of Cafe des Iles ink, and the pen and ink are getting along.  
 

I enjoy your reviews very much. 

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Misfit said:

Hi @yazeh I tried using this ink in a Pelikan Cafe Creme. They didn’t seem to get along. But with a drop of Vanness’ White Lightning in the 10ml of Cafe des Iles ink, and the pen and ink are getting along.  

Thanks for letting us know. Glad they are working well together  

2 hours ago, Misfit said:

I enjoy your reviews very much. 

It means a lot, thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[InesF]

Thank you, @yazeh, for the comprehensive and entertaining ink review. 

It's always a pleasure to scan through the handwriting and, as if it was magic, a smile appears when watching your artwork. Mouse was quite acrobatic this time, despite the "rain" while something must have ill-humoured cat. 🤫 Cat maybe did not know about what happens when ordering Café des iles in France? I guess you told cat, afterwards, that Ovaltine contains a lot of milk ...  which released the tension?  

 

On the ink: No, I will not set it on my wishlist. I think, that's what reviews are for?   Once again, thank you!

On Iroful paper: Another FPN user sent me some sample sheets. The paper is not so easy to get in Europe. My test outcome was controversial: the paper intensifies the ink colours but makes the lines broader. I love the first but do not like the second effect. From your scans and photos I can see a similar line widening on Iroful.

 

Looking forward to your next review!

 

[yazeh]

9 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @yazeh, for the comprehensive and entertaining ink review. 

A pleasure!

9 hours ago, InesF said:

It's always a pleasure to scan through the handwriting and, as if it was magic, a smile appears when watching your artwork. Mouse was quite acrobatic this time, despite the "rain" while something must have ill-humoured cat. 🤫 

 

9 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Cat maybe did not know about what happens when ordering Café des iles in France? I guess you told cat, afterwards, that Ovaltine contains a lot of milk ...  which released the tension?  

 

9 hours ago, InesF said:

 

On the ink: No, I will not set it on my wishlist. I think, that's what reviews are for?   Once again, thank you!

A pleasure!

9 hours ago, InesF said:

On Iroful paper: Another FPN user sent me some sample sheets.

I wonder who?  

9 hours ago, InesF said:

The paper is not so easy to get in Europe. My test outcome was controversial: the paper intensifies the ink colours but makes the lines broader. I love the first but do not like the second effect. From your scans and photos I can see a similar line widening on Iroful.

I'm still in the testing phase. I still prefer my Tome River 68gr paper

9 hours ago, InesF said:

Looking forward to your next review!

 

Me too  

[LizEF]

11 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I still prefer my Tome River 68gr paper

I really like this, too.  I have it in 2 Hippo Notos, 3 Endless Recorders, 1 Bond Travel Gear, and 1 GLP Creations The Author.   Only one of the Hippos has been started, the rest all await their turns...

[yazeh]

5 hours ago, LizEF said:

I really like this, too.  I have it in 2 Hippo Notos, 3 Endless Recorders, 1 Bond Travel Gear, and 1 GLP Creations The Author.   Only one of the Hippos has been started, the rest all await their turns...

I don't know any of those. Keep us posted  Enjoy your books. Klaw and Smoke must be jealous

[LizEF]

20 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I don't know any of those.

I think the only one still available is the GLP Creations The Author notebook.  I can't find the Bond Travel Gear.  Endless Recorders now use their Regalia paper.  The Hippo Noto website is still there and seems active for ink, but not really for notebooks (which were / are kickstarter projects) - what's there is very expensive (more, I think, than when I got mine from the kickstarter project).

 

26 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Keep us posted

Don't hold your breath!  I don't write enough for them to get their turn soon.

 

27 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Enjoy your books.

I'm not finding book 3 as compelling as book 2 was.   But hope to finish it no later than tomorrow night.

 

27 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Klaw and Smoke must be jealous

They are indeed!  Klaw has been coming to sit on my lap! (He never does that.) And both are complaining about lack of play time...

[yazeh]

12 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I think the only one still available is the GLP Creations The Author notebook.  I can't find the Bond Travel Gear.  Endless Recorders now use their Regalia paper.  The Hippo Noto website is still there and seems active for ink, but not really for notebooks (which were / are kickstarter projects) - what's there is very expensive (more, I think, than when I got mine from the kickstarter project).

Thanks but no thanks, I have enough paper  

12 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Don't hold your breath!  I don't write enough for them to get their turn soon.

Same here  

12 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

I'm not finding book 3 as compelling as book 2 was.   But hope to finish it no later than tomorrow night.

Maybe take a break. I used to read like you. I read the Lord of the Rings in 3 days  

12 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

They are indeed!  Klaw has been coming to sit on my lap! (He never does that.) And both are complaining about lack of play time...

Well, Mommy needs to have a life too 😛 

[LizEF]

10 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Maybe take a break. I used to read like you. I read the Lord of the Rings in 3 days  

I am taking breaks in this one - if it had been as compelling as book 2, I'd have finished it already.  And ... whoa!!  That's some serious reading!

 

12 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Well, Mommy needs to have a life too 😛 

Exactly!  They've begun their afternoon nap, so I should probably read while I have some quite time.

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

I am taking breaks in this one - if it had been as compelling as book 2, I'd have finished it already. 

You never know. It might redeem itself  

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

 

And ... whoa!!  That's some serious reading!

Yeah, I've done it with several other books, when borrowing time was tight

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

 

Exactly!  They've begun their afternoon nap, so I should probably read while I have some quite time.

We're lucky that cat's take very long naps  

[Bo Bo Olson]

To me looking at the OP's picture of the Café des îles ink, I thought  4001 Brilliant brown...

The similarity to 4001 Brilliant Brown may be why I haven't used it in years.....

I don't have anything against Brilliant Brown, but it's a bit too red-brown.

 

I don't remember feather and bleeding problems with Café des îles ink, but my go to paper for the last 15 years has been Oxford Optic 90g.

Woolly lines, much less feathering raises my hackles.

 

 

Lie de Thee` is my favorite shading brown.

I just received from Penquincollector some Asian papers, but I'm not going to load Café des îles, just to see if it fathers and bleeds on them.

It looks like it was designed for Euro papers.

 

The Holy Grail is easy to find. It is locked up in a Spanish Pyrenees monastery.

 

The real Holy Grail is a paper that shows sheen straight up; without side light, or tilting or hunting and searching....even on famous Japanese papers.

I have 7 pens with proper hunting for sheen nibs inked...so the search goes on.

 

[yazeh]

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

To me looking at the OP's picture of the Café des îles ink, I thought  4001 Brilliant brown...

The similarity to 4001 Brilliant Brown may be why I haven't used it in years.....

I don't have anything against Brilliant Brown, but it's a bit too red-brown.

I'm not a fan of reddish brown

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

 

I don't remember feather and bleeding problems with Café des îles ink, but my go to paper for the last 15 years has been Oxford Optic 90g.

Woolly lines, much less feathering raises my hackles.

Most J Herbin inks don't like thin copy paper. Jacques Herbin inks seem to be different ) 

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Lie de Thee` is my favorite shading brown.

I have to test it yet  

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I just received from Penquincollector some Asian papers, but I'm not going to load Café des îles, just to see if it fathers and bleeds on them.

Café des îles doesn't bleed or feather on Japanese Paper  

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

The Holy Grail is easy to find. It is locked up in a Spanish Pyrenees monastery.

 

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

 

The real Holy Grail is a paper that shows sheen straight up; without side light, or tilting or hunting and searching....even on famous Japanese papers.

I have 7 pens with proper hunting for sheen nibs inked...so the search goes on.

 

Iroful is quite good at that