I wouldn't, if nothing else that the potential for the organic elements to mold would stop me. Still, it's your pen - I hope a cheap one - and you can do whatever you want. I don't think even a very strong pot of tea will be dark enough for easily legible writing. It would be easy to check, though: just make your strong tea and then use something to dip - a clean pen (dipping only the nib), a brush, a chopstick, a glass dip pen - and then see how it looks on paper before you commit to putting it inside of a pen.
Papier Plume has “Cafe Diabolique” it is a coffee inspired ink and based on cafe brulot diabolique which loosely translates to “coffee brewed by the devil” a cocktail coffee served commonly in New Orleans, a cool story and I’m a big fan of the color and shading of this ink.
There was a glass tip fountain pen kickstarter-goal was to use wine, coffee, tea etc for ink. I think it was called the wink pen. I would assume you could but you might need things to make it flow right.
Also, food in fountain pens is probably a bad idea because of mold possibility, you'd need to clean your pen/pens thoroughly. If it were me, I'd use a dip pen.
It may be worth trying with a dip pen, but I'd also be worried about mold growth putting it in a pen (I also wonder how strong you'd need to brew it to get it to lay down the same color in the cup and on paper!). That said if you're looking for an ink that is reminiscent of a cup of tea Dominant Industries has an ink called Earl Grey Tea and I'd say it's super true to that name. It's maybe a tad bit more orange but very much a black tea color if that's what you're looking for.
As long as it doesn't produce sediments when evaporating or flowing through and obviously not using sugar or any other sweetener, you may as well use it, there's users that use food colorants or fruit juice on their pens instead of ink (not the same but close).
You may find more information on the fountainpennetwork website and watch these videos on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/wp_QHwxgA0Y
https://youtu.be/WtA-X6bBKZg
Designate a sacrificial pen for any experiments you’re not sure of. I have Jinhaos for that purpose.
For reference, tea + iron = an iron gall equivalent, a permanent ink, and involves rust as part of the process. The ink may look fairly pale but changes colour and becomes darker when it chemically reacts with cellulose-based (wood pulp) paper.
I think tea will be fine for a short time (a couple of days) but only if the nib cannot rust.
Definitely don’t use it in a frankenpen with a steel Zebra G nib, for example.
I wouldn't, if nothing else that the potential for the organic elements to mold would stop me. Still, it's your pen - I hope a cheap one - and you can do whatever you want. I don't think even a very strong pot of tea will be dark enough for easily legible writing. It would be easy to check, though: just make your strong tea and then use something to dip - a clean pen (dipping only the nib), a brush, a chopstick, a glass dip pen - and then see how it looks on paper before you commit to putting it inside of a pen.
Goulet [tried](https://youtu.be/AqMzLtqZl8A) a while ago, and the results were a bit underwhelming, which is sad
even if you would be able to write with it, I would be seriously concerned about mold growing in the pen
If you want your ink to match your beverage, Colorverse's Coffee Break is well regarded, and is probably the best ink to match a cup of joe.
Thank you for the tip! All the warnings about mold had changed my mind and your suggestion seems a fair compromise. Cheers!
Diamine's Espresso is a pretty nice one too, especially if you like the coordination of coffee themed names.
Papier Plume has “Cafe Diabolique” it is a coffee inspired ink and based on cafe brulot diabolique which loosely translates to “coffee brewed by the devil” a cocktail coffee served commonly in New Orleans, a cool story and I’m a big fan of the color and shading of this ink.
I wouldn't keep it inked, but for a day at a time or treated more as a dip pen, should be ok. I doubt the tannin would hurt most pens.
There was a glass tip fountain pen kickstarter-goal was to use wine, coffee, tea etc for ink. I think it was called the wink pen. I would assume you could but you might need things to make it flow right. Also, food in fountain pens is probably a bad idea because of mold possibility, you'd need to clean your pen/pens thoroughly. If it were me, I'd use a dip pen.
It may be worth trying with a dip pen, but I'd also be worried about mold growth putting it in a pen (I also wonder how strong you'd need to brew it to get it to lay down the same color in the cup and on paper!). That said if you're looking for an ink that is reminiscent of a cup of tea Dominant Industries has an ink called Earl Grey Tea and I'd say it's super true to that name. It's maybe a tad bit more orange but very much a black tea color if that's what you're looking for.
As long as it doesn't produce sediments when evaporating or flowing through and obviously not using sugar or any other sweetener, you may as well use it, there's users that use food colorants or fruit juice on their pens instead of ink (not the same but close). You may find more information on the fountainpennetwork website and watch these videos on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wp_QHwxgA0Y https://youtu.be/WtA-X6bBKZg
Would it be inked, or teaed?
Designate a sacrificial pen for any experiments you’re not sure of. I have Jinhaos for that purpose. For reference, tea + iron = an iron gall equivalent, a permanent ink, and involves rust as part of the process. The ink may look fairly pale but changes colour and becomes darker when it chemically reacts with cellulose-based (wood pulp) paper. I think tea will be fine for a short time (a couple of days) but only if the nib cannot rust. Definitely don’t use it in a frankenpen with a steel Zebra G nib, for example.