Sodium Bicarbonate + Tea?

[amyx231]

sodium bicarbonate is technically amphoteric, but i think we all agree it's more often used as a weak base.

it's baking soda, by the way.

it's got a 0.1g/cm3 (mL) solubility, so would go great i think in the tea ink, because that's acidic (pH around 5 or 6, depending on where the info comes from).

so my question is, has anyone straight up taken regular, strong tea, and added a bit of bicarbonate? (or even done the math? the 3-compound eqlbm makes my head spin).

and did it work?

or does the reduced acidity increase/speed in the mold? what if the ink is buffered to slightly alkaline levels?

[amyx231]

come on guys, 29 views and no comments?

no one cares?

does anyone use straight-up tea as ink? i don't wanna do the steel wool reaction. All those chemicals (and i'd like to point out tea has tannins, not tannic acid, at least that's what i gather from online articles).... besides, a dark enough tea should be fine by itself. not like anyone's using it for work...i hope; lol, what did you write your report with? Tea!

[wallylynn]

I don't write with tea, but I know some people buffer their tea with milk. Though I think that's to offset bitterness not acidity.

Most organic tinctures are quite pale. It takes a lot of plant material to make a relatively dark ink.

 

There's a few "not-ink ink" threads that discuss writing with stuff like coffee, pokeberries (of which I have a bottle on my desk), food coloring, motor oil, etc. But I don't think any of it goes into anyone's FP. Dip pens perhaps.

 

Anyways, there are commercial inks that are pH 4, 3, lower. Your tea doesn't need buffering.

[amyx231]

yeah, but im thinking about the long-term ramifications of using an acidic medium with metal.

then again, id never use anything less than neutral, and store-bought, with any good pen. just in case. of course, good pens are gold or something, and thus would never react with anything....

 

milks a o/w emulsion, i believe. but interesting thought, writing with milk

 

so without the steel wool, it'd be too light? darn it.

anyone know any dark teas? Coffee i think would stain, no? plus, you can't concentrate it yourself (not really)..or maybe tea bag into coffee?(im mainly concerned with toxicity, because i see some spills in my future).

[Surnia]

That I know of, Tea is actually a slight indicator... so adjusting the pH will adjust the colour slightly. I know acids make tea lighter but I haven't tried with bases.

 

I'm inclined to think that tea would be too light. If its dark enough then I'd start worrying that the tea leaf particulates would clog the feed.

[amyx231]

isnt tea theoretically a solution?

sos coffee, but im sure coffee has its own problems, solution or not.

idk, im not gonna use it for classwork. just to write plannar, maybe scheduler. post-its maybe. idk

oh well, it was a fun thought. maybe ill try it anyway. solution, cant hurt.

the info about acidity lightening the color is very interesting. good to know.

[mholve]

If the tea was brewed in a bag, it should be mostly particulate-free. In an open sieve, all bets are off.

 

Coffee has its own issues, such as the oils... But it's a darker medium, and one closer to my heart. I've thought about using it as ink more than once.

[amyx231]

If the tea was brewed in a bag, it should be mostly particulate-free. In an open sieve, all bets are off.

 

Coffee has its own issues, such as the oils... But it's a darker medium, and one closer to my heart. I've thought about using it as ink more than once.

 

coffee's bad for you. technically though, coffee is a solution (given that your filter is good). So go ahead, it can't be more acidic/chemical than the regular inks. of course, if you are using coffee to write, does it go bad? or does even mold run from the caustic substance? lol.

if i use a drinkable medium, i may end up refilling on the go..er, maybe not. but isnt that an interesting thought? when u business guys go to meetings elsewhere, don't need to bring ink, just ask for a morning cup of joe. lol.

[amyx231]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/coffee-printer.htm/printable

 

this talks about coffee ink printers!

[lapis]

For me, teas are the same as inks (or vice-versa). If it's acidic and I like the taste of it, I'll take it as is. No additives. No bases. No acids (well, occasionally a shot of fresh lemon juice to let's say an Assam (BTW pure lemon juice has a pH of about 3), no sugar, by all means no milk!

To repeat, ditto on inks. If I don't like it (for whatever reason) I just don't use it. I mix enough inks often enough and don't bother about their pHs. If it works, it works. If it doesn't work as in the sense of precipitation or jelling, I just don't fill it into any pen.

 

Ben

[Mickey]

How about red cabbage juice for an ink? Then you'd have an indicator ink that would change color depending on the pH of the paper. The color could range from red to yellowish green depending on the pH. Might be fun.

 

http://chemistry.about.com/od/acidsbase1/a/red-cabbage-ph-indicator.htm

[amyx231]

cabbage juice...ewww... interesting tho...

[wallylynn]

cabbage juice...ewww... interesting tho...

Hydrangeas then.

 

Would worlds collide if you use tea ink on coffee paper?

[mholve]

Would worlds collide if you use tea ink on coffee paper?

 

I think the paper would just spontaneously combust!

[amyx231]

hahaha

[GrayWolf]

Ink formulas are very complicated in their chemistry. There is the coloring agent or agents, and solubilizing agents such as surfactants. Some of the dyes display different colors as the pH changes (phenolphthalein and methylene blue are 2 examples), therefore a buffering agent will be added to try and control the pH of the solution. The particular pH of the ink formula depends upon the dyes that they use to make the ink colored. Therefore you must be careful if you change the pH of the ink, this may make the formulation unstable and or change the color. Keep in mind that some of these solutions are buffered, and that buffering agents resist pH changes until the buffer is used up. This might require a lot of acid or base to be admitted to the ink formula. This does not matter in your example, just something to keep in mind if you start playing around with commercial ink formulas.

[amyx231]

oh, i would never alter manufactured ink

this is just me brainstorming fun ideas. most will never see light (beyond the moniter, anyway)

 

how safe is it to add water to bought ink? the noodler's video said people add 10%-50% water?

[lapis]

How about adding 10%-50% olive oil instead? That otta make 'em even more water resistent.

 

Mike

[Paddler]

The terms "tannin" and "tannic acid" are synonymous. Tannins form a rather broad class of compounds. The gallic acid used to make iron gall ink is a tannin that is not very dark at all. You would have to try to brew your tea dark enough to use for ink. Without knowing precisely what tannins are present (there could be tens of different kinds in a natural product like tea), calculating usable concentrations would be impossible.

 

If you react an acid with a base, you get water plus a salt of some kind. The salt is not necessarily less reactive than the acid or the base you started with.

 

I ran into all this when I began to make walnut ink. Just make your tea ink and write with it. To find out what you are actually doing, you will need a well tricked-out chem lab and a herd of post-docs with nothing better to do.

 

Paddler

Edited February 4, 2011 by Paddler

[amyx231]

well, i think 1 grad student procrastinating can figure something out.

so...walnut ink. the walnut shells actually give ink?!?! i always thought that was a joke or something - i know the actual walnut fruit is inky, but...