(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!.)
The year was 2019, and Jeffrey Coleman, a Spanish professor and pen enthusiast, decided to start a pen blog. Fast forward to June 2020 (which seems like an eternity now but it was just 18 months ago) when Jeffrey thought a podcast would be a better format for his pen musings. He roped in his fraternity brother, Erick Gama, to be the co-host and together, they launched a podcast. Not just any pen podcast, but one in Spanish, called Tinterías, which is a combination of the words “tinta” (ink) and “tonterías” (foolishness or silliness).
As of this writing, there are already more than 75 episodes, which are released weekly on Mondays at 8am Central Time. They often have guests on the show like brand representatives from PIlot and LAMY, distributors, pen makers and nib workers. They also have their own slack (email hola@tinterias.com to be added) and run a Spanish version of Rock Your Handwriting called Luce Tu Escritura. You can find Jeffrey Coleman on Instagram as @drcoleman1102 and Erick Gama @erickgama and also through the podcast account @tinteriaspodcast
Homemade Tortilla (top) and Spicy Chipotle.
The idea for the Deliciosa inks came about when Jeffrey and Erick saw that Sailor North America had begun entering the Mexican market and wanted something akin to the 50 states series that wasn’t US-focused. Sailor asked them to propose something for Mexico and Latin America and the duo came up with a line of inks based on food - Homemade Tortilla and Spicy Chipotle. Of course, I have to add that despite their yummy sounding names, the inks aren’t meant for eating/drinking :-). These two inks were launched in summer/fall of 2021 and come in 50ml square glass bottles like the Manyo series and standard inks.
Homemade Tortilla is a lovely golden brown while Spicy Chipotle is a hotly-debated (see what I did there?) brownish red or a reddish brown color. I think it’s the latter.
You can see that this ink has great shading potential.
Cult Pens Louise, Kobe 21 Taisanji Yellow, Robert Oster African Gold, Diamine Golden Brown (most similar) and KWZ Honey are all similar to Homemade Tortilla.
Homemade Tortilla writing sample on Cosmo Air Light 75gsm, 52 gsm Tomoe River, 68 gsm dot-grid Tomoe River.
Spicy Chipotle has a subtle green sheen that can be seen with wetter swatches.
Blackstone Barrister Brown, Taccia Cha Brown (most similar), Robert Oster Aussie Brown, Diamine Inkvent 2019/Blue Edition Roasted Chestnut, and Monteverde Sweet Life Pumpkin Cake (also pretty close).
Spicy Chipotle on CAL 75, TR 52 and TR68. You can see some of the green sheen in the TR 68 swatch.
Both inks had average flow, neither too wet nor too dry. Homemade Tortilla is more of a shading ink while Spicy Chipotle is more saturated with just a hint of sheen with a wet, broad nib or in big swathes of ink.
The inks are still available for purchase on the Tinterías website. Due to shipping costs, they can only be purchased as a set for $60 (shipping is not included). I bought mine from Jeffrey and Erick at the Chicago Pen Show, where inks could be sold separately with no shipping costs. They already have the next pair of inks ready to go to production now and will be launched later this year. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next two inks!
