Color Traveler - Ninoshima Baumkuchen

Color Traveler Ninoshima Baumkuchen - Ink Drop

Ninoshima Baumkuchen comes from Color Traveler. Color Traveler is the in-house ink brand of Tayama Bungu, a 120-year old stationery store based in Hiroshima, Japan. Their inks tell the stories of places of interest in Japan, and this ink has an interesting story. Ninoshima, an island 20 minutes from Hiroshima, is considered the birthplace of Baumkuchen in Japan. Baumkuchen (tree cake) is a German ring cake with layer after layer added as it spin roasts on a spit above a fire. When cut, it resembles a tree stump with growth rings. Karl Juchheim, a German baker, made the first Baumkuchen in Japan as a treat for fellow prisoners of war, when he was held in a prison camp on Ninoshima in 1919. He stayed after he was released, and eventually owned successful coffee shops that popularized the cake throughout Japan.

From yellow to golden brown!

Visually, this is a beautiful, warm, honey yellow, a sun-soaked, creamy caramel yellow. The splatter shows dark-edged areas of pooling with cappuccino-brown dark areas, and lemony-yellow light areas, as well. These reflect the shading extremes, but overall, the ink reads more golden yellow in writing. A nice, darkened halo gives written strokes a well-defined profile. It’s a very pretty ink.

Ninoshima Baumkuchen’s swatch card

It writes beautifully, neither wet, nor dry. Strokes were crisp and sharp on all six test papers. There’s good shading throughout, but the halo disappears on office copy. Drying was 20-25 seconds on coated premiums, 10-15 seconds on uncoated premiums, and 5 seconds on office copy.

Like the cake it’s named for, this is a delicious ink! Color Traveler inks are a pleasure to use, and this one is a pleasure on paper, as well. Enjoy!