(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
After my review of the first two Sailor x Tinterías inks, I was anxiously waiting for the next batch of the Deliciosa inks. And when they were announced last month, I ordered the set as soon as I could.
As a bit of background, the Tinterías podcast was created in mid-2020 by Jeffrey Coleman and Erick Gama as a Spanish podcast about pens, ink and all things stationery. They launched the first batch of Deliciosa inks together in the fall of 2021. The two parted ways amicably this year so that Erick Gama could focus on his shop, Amarillo Stationery. Jeffrey continues producing Tinterías episodes. You can find him on Instagram as @drcoleman1102 and also through the podcast account @tinteriaspodcast.
This second batch of inks continues the Deliciosa theme of food-based ink names - Agave and Blue Corn. Just a reminder that, despite their yummy sounding names, the inks aren’t meant for eating/drinking :-). These two inks were launched last month (September 2022) and come in 50ml square glass bottles like the Manyo series and standard inks.
Agave is a nice shading, muted blue, though not quite what I would call a blue-black. Blue Corn, on the other hand, is not blue nor yellow like corn, but rather a saturated dark purple, bordering on black. Search for images of blue corn, especially blue corn chips and you’ll have a good idea of what inspired this ink color.
Agave is a lovely shading ink.
Similar inks: Colorverse Quahog, Akkerman #07 Koninginne Nach Blauw, Vinta Inks London Grey Ulap 1762, Papier Plume Fountain Pen Day 2019 All Saints Daybreak, Robert Oster Chicago (most similar), and Sailor 50 States Pennsylvania.
Agave writing sample on Cosmo Air Light 75gsm, 52 gsm Tomoe River, 68 gsm dot-grid Tomoe River.
Blue Corn has a green sheen that can be seen with wetter swatches. Note that the camera really brings out the sheen a bit more than in real life.
Similar inks: Bungubox Ink of the Witch, KWZ Grey Plum, Colorverse Chi-Town. Sailor Shigure is in the mix because it was the first Sailor ink I thought of which was a dark purple-black, but it’s a bit more blue and not quite as dark. Chi-Town would be similar to Blue Corn if it had shimmer.
Considering Sailor made both Blue Corn and Ink of the Witch, it’s not surprising that they are very similar, with Blue Corn being ever so slightly darker.
Blue Corn on TR 52, CAL 75 and TR68. You can definitely see some of the green sheen on the TR 52 and CAL swatches but not as much with the writing sample.
Both inks had average flow, neither too wet nor too dry. Agave is more of a shading ink while Blue Corn is quite a bit more saturated with some green sheen with a wet, broad nib or in big swathes of ink.
The Deliciosa line of inks on 68 gsm TR.
The inks are currently still available for purchase on the Tinterías website. They can only be purchased as a set for $60 (shipping is not included). I don’t know when the next pair of inks will but I already can’t wait to get my inky lil hands on them!
