Earl Grey but This is NOT TEA

[@arlenealennox3136]

In addition to to dunking my paint brush into my tea/coffee, I have been known to lift a mug of paint water to my lips. Fortunately, that’s as far as it got.

[@writerlywitterings]

Ugh - no, that wouldn't appeal!

[@JerryBearry]

Still laughing at the tale of cleaning a paint brush in the cup of tea! 😂 I didn't know it at the time, but I really needed a good chuckle. Thanks!

[@writerlywitterings]

You are so welcome! I think we all need a bit of a chuckle just now.

[@greyareaRK1]

Lovely ink - looks classy, somehow, like tarnished silver. Tinted greys might be an interesting option for twilight paintings.

[@writerlywitterings]

Great idea - I may have to try this as a sketching ink in a fine nib and use it with washes to see how it works.

[@archivist17]

Mentoring idea sounds like a very good one.

[@writerlywitterings]

Many thanks - I will be thinking how best to do that.

[@JBFire97]

Another interesting Ink. Lovely to see the compendium of ink tests growing. Thanks as always!

[@writerlywitterings]

Glad you enjoyed it, Paul - and thanks for the support as always.

[@ybach64]

I did recently get a bottle of EARL GREY myself along with HAVASU TURQUOISE, SOFT MINT and DRAGON RED. They are all superb; so thank you for introducing me to Diamine and Cult Pens.

[@writerlywitterings]

That's my pleasure - and I agree with all your four choices!

[@williamcrane1]

I was happy to see your review of this ink. I bought this ink sometime last year but only recently used it. I found it to be a refreshing change from black or blue-black. I tend to use different pens and inks when I work on different chapters in my memoirs; at least if my prose isn’t colorful, the handwriting is. My current tea is Twinings English breakfast from the UK, which is a bit different from the Twinings sold here in the US. Thanks for the review.

[@writerlywitterings]

Cheers, William, and thanks. I like changing inks regularly too, and just now I'm really enjoying my Visconti Breeze with cartridge convertor because it just works so beautifully on the page, and I quickly empty it! I do love a little Twinings tea. I've always been keen on Drury Tea and Coffee Company's teas, too. Their Afternoon BOP and Imperial Earl Grey are my stand-bys.

[@djryandelap]

Thanks for the recommendation on the ink, AND the tea! I agree with you on grey inks - not generally a fan. But this definitely has a nice tint to it. Also, I wasn’t aware of that variety of earl gray tea you showed at the beginning! I’m a black dark-roast coffee kind of guy, but do adore a cup of Earl Grey when I want something less acidic. Going to have to look for that next time I’m at the store!

[@writerlywitterings]

Hi, Ryan - and thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video - and hope you enjoy the tea as well!

[@pigsydney]

The Earl Grey ink is one of my favorite inks.I keep my Pelikan M605 Stress man filled with it all the time.Great ink,I can say nothing bad about it.

[@writerlywitterings]

Same here, I think it's going to be one of my favourites - certainly my favourite grey!

[@archivist17]

There's a lot more to this ink than I was expecting!

[@writerlywitterings]

Same here - I really was thinking it would be a bit of a boring one, but it was lovely.

[@archivist17]

@@writerlywitterings I've got to be honest - I watched the video more because I like your presenting style than for the ink. But there was a moment of 'Hang on, this is actually rather nice', and I'm now thinking about buying a bottle (or at least a sample).

[@writerlywitterings]

@@archivist17 I think that's rather a nice compliment, actually! Many thanks, and I hope you like it as much as I do!

[@jamesaritchie1]

I use Earl Grey in two ways. Ninety percent of the time or more I use it as is because it's a very pleasant change from black. I had to use black every darned day for years. I really grew very tired of it, and Earl Grey does the same job without boring me to death. I also mix a good bit of distilled water with it when I want a true. pretty light grey in a pen and ink drawing. It works very, very well for this. I dring a lot of Twinings Earl Grey. I'll have to try both of those teas you have. I haven't seen them before. They look good.

[@writerlywitterings]

Thanks for that, James - and I'm thinking of doing the same with sketching and Earl Grey. It's a lovely looking ink, and I think it'd work well as a sketching/wash ink. I'm also going to have to check out more of the Twinings teas. They have some other interesting mixes, apparently!

[@hannukuivalainen4674]

Thanks for the review! I just love this ink. It is a great one for sketching. Touch of waterbrush brings out delightful hues. It has paired quite permanently with my 1,1 stub nibbed Al-Star Turmaline.

[@writerlywitterings]

That is fascinating - you're the fourth here to say that it's idea for sketching. I'm going to have to try it in one of my small sketching nibs. Thanks for that, my friend!

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

Noodlers Lexington grey is lovely as well, but as for diamine you must try Moondust! It is glorious!!

[@writerlywitterings]

I'll check it out!

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

@@writerlywitterings please do, and thanks so much for telling us about your tea. Would definitely be open to way more tea talk about your favorite kinds and where we can buy them, etc. Tea reviews would be most welcome!

[@johngrubb007]

This is an interesting ink but a bit light for my tastes. The closest I have to a grey ink would be my Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia which goes down as a rich chocolatey brown but then drys to a darker smokey purple-grey that is quite unique. It has quite the back story too and is pretty much indestructible once it has bonded to the paper which makes it my favourite ink. Apparently, if you compare it to the old whaling ship log books, it is pretty well identical looking as the squid ink they used on their long journeys. It's only available at Goulet Pens though.

[@writerlywitterings]

Thanks for that, John. Sounds fascinating - I'm a recent convert to Noodlers, but been really impressed (once I learned to shake the bottle before filling)! Sadly buying from the US is a bit expensive because of the shipping costs, but I'll keep an eye open for that. Thanks!

[@BossPenguin]

I love grey inks. This one looks very nice. Writing this while sipping Yorkshire Tea Gold, my personal go-to :) Cheers Mike. Hope to see you on discord at some time again, we have to discuss a few small things at some point. Hope you're well, Chris

[@writerlywitterings]

Hi, Chris, and yes, it's been far too long. I'll get back later today or early next week. Been ridiculously busy recently. Glad you're keeping well, matey, and you carry on with that tea!

[@BossPenguin]

Hey Mike, no stress. Take your time. All the best, Chris

[@tracylynnw]

Mmmm earl grey, and his wife…lady grey ❤️ tasty twinnings tea. Plus that ink is one of my favs.

[@writerlywitterings]

Really impressed with the ink - and the teas!

[@JosephDickson]

I love this ink, it seems to prefer broader nibs. EF and F appear blackish.

[@jamesaritchie1]

I tend to agree. I'm not fond of broad nibs, but I use a wet medium with Earl Grey and it seems to work well.

[@writerlywitterings]

I think that is a reflection of finer nibs with most inks. I don't like Writers' Blood in them, for example, but love it in a broad. This is glorious in a large nib, though. Really appealing (to me!)

[@writerlywitterings]

Hmm. I'll have to put it through another pen and see how it works. Thanks, James.

[@ronaldchapman2806]

What's in a name? Quite a lot, actually. I bought Earl Grey as a cheap alternative to an expensive, hard go get ink called stormy sky, a much more accurate description of the colour. Sorry, but I forget the maker. I was drawn towards Diamine Bloody Absinthe (a teal with a red sheen) but found out it was exclusive to a German company and sold out anyway. You have to do a bit of research and take a chance to find the nearest equivalent lurking in disguise under a more prosaic name. Perhaps Michael's ink should be supplied in child proof bottles.

[@writerlywitterings]

My inks should definitely be provided with child-proof locks so I'm safe from them! I love the Earl Grey colour. Very simple, but nice reddish tinges. I have several serious sheening inks, but I must admit they tend to leave me a little cold. Sheen doesn't really do it for me - but I'm a contrary old git, to be fair! Cheers!

[@ronaldchapman2806]

@@writerlywitterings Contrary old gits unite! It's better than bottling it up!

[@qiqerod]

Do you add milk to your tea? Great content as always!!! 👌🏻

[@writerlywitterings]

Always milk, yes, unless it is a pure fruit tea.

[@qiqerod]

@@writerlywitterings I will start trying it 👍🏻. Thank you for replying

[@writerlywitterings]

@@qiqerod My pleasure!

[@anuragkale6269]

I would recommend you setup a Gumroad page for the mentoring session. It can be sold as a one time thing rather than a recurring setup on patreaon.

[@writerlywitterings]

Ah, thanks for that, Anurag - I hadn't heard of that. I'll look into it.