Cinnamon is known as one of the first traded and most popular spices from the ancient world.  It belongs to the family Lauraceae and there are more than 250 species and sub species. The expensive and rare cinnamon variety is known as “Ceylon cinnamon” which is native to Sri Lanka. Due to unique chemical properties over other varieties, Ceylon variety has high reputation and demand in the world.

Ceylon cinnamon contains more than 80 chemical components. Cinnamaldehyde is the essential component of the bark and eugenol is the main component found in the cinnamon leaf oil.

This valuable spice has been noted as the most beneficial among the rest in the spice industry. Besides being a spice in nature, it was used as medicine, medical production, perfume production as well as soft drinks. Currently, cinnamon is widely used in pharmaceutical industries, bakeries and cosmetic industries throughout the world.

Types of cinnamon

According to the physical location and chemical characteristics, cinnamon is divided into few main categories. There are significant physical and scientific different among them. But, all of those different varieties are commonly available in the global market as ‘cinnamon’.

1. Ceylon cinnamon (True/ Pure cinnamon) – Cinnamomum zeylanicum syn. Cinnamomum verum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum blume
2. Cassia
   • Chinese cassia (Chinese cinnamon) – Cinnamomum cassia syn. C. aromaticum
   • Vietnamese cassia (Saigon/ Vietnamese cinnamon) – Cinnamomum loureiroi
   • Indonesian cassia (Korintje Cinnamon) – Cinnamomum burmannii

Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia are the main specie types traded in the international market under the term of ‘Cinnamon’. Both are belonging to the family Lauraceae. Cassia cinnamon contains different sub varieties come from different countries. Chinese cassia, Vietnamese cassia and Indonesian cassia are the major spices belongs to the term of ‘Cassia’ .

Ceylon cinnamon

Ceylon cinnamon is the expensive, rare, safe and recommended variety over all other varieties including Cassia, Korintje and Saigon. True cinnamon is graded as the fourth most expensive spice in the world. 80%-90% of world’s production of this product belongs to a small Asian country, known as Sri Lanka.

Chinese cassia

China (Kwangsi and Kwangtung Provinces) is the main producer and exporter of Chinese cassia. This is the commonly available variety in the international market.

 

Vietnamese cassia

Before the Vietnam War, this product came from area around the southern city of Saigon in Vietnam. Now it comes from central regions of central Vietnam. This contains strong spicy taste, high levels of oil content and more coumarin level (one study shows it as 7 g/kg) than other three varieties.

Indonesian cassia

This variety is cultivated in West Sumatra and western Jambi province in Indonesia. This is the most common and cheapest variety available in the US market. The leaf oil of this type does not contain eugenol.

What is True cinnamon?

This is the cinnamon product comes from Sri Lanka. The source is Cinnamomum verum tree under the family Lauraceae. Naturally dried inner bark of the tree comes to the market through a hand crafted process. The final product is available as a valuable spice that contains sweet taste and confirmed health advantages.

Due to its unique aroma, quality, health benefits and ultra-low coumarin value, Ceylon cinnamon has obtained a wide reputation in the global market. The quills are specially prepared in a way that is unique to Sri Lanka. Over centuries this skill has been transferred from generation to generation.

Ceylon cinnamon is exported all over the world but the USA and Mexico are the main markets. A significant amount of Sri Lankan cinnamon products is used in Europe, Spain, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Bolivia and Chile.

Cinnamomum verum is usually labeled “Ceylon cinnamon”. If you are a consumer lives in Europe or America, the product in your cupboard is probably not true product , but a cassia variety that labeled as ‘cinnamon’.

Canela

Mexico is a major buyer for the product. Due to the wide usage and exchange in Mexico, true cinnamon is sometimes referred as Mexican cinnamon (Canela) in the market.  Mexicans never cultivate or produce this spice in their country. Actually, Canela is the same cinnamomum verum sticks imported from Sri Lanka.

Ceylon vs. Cassia

Cinnamomum verum and Cinnamomum cassia are totally different spices. The major difference is coumarin content of each spice. C. verum contains ultra-low coumarin content compare to cassia and its varieties. In 2006, Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has warned against regular usage of Cassia, due to its higher coumarin content.

Ceylon Cinnamon (CZ)	Cassia Cinnamom(CC)
Very expensive and rare to find out from original country.	Common and cheap spice
Contains ultra low Coumarin content which is healthy (~0.004%)	Coumain level is 1200 times more which occur kidney and liver issues (~5%).
Recommended for daily use by doctors.	Not recommended for daily use as it cause health problems.
Colour is tan brown.	Colour is reddish dark brown.
Very light paper thickness of bark which forms multiple layers rolled up as coil.	Uneven thickness and forms only few layers (mostly single) when rolled up.
Fragile, easily broken.	Hard and difficult to grind.
Delicate and sweet. Create an excellent flavor and aroma.	Pungent and full bodied taste. Recommended for Chinese foods.
Not available in China	Not available in Sri Lanka.

Table 01: Major differences between pure cinnamon and Cassia.

Products from Sri Lanka

The term of ‘Ceylon’ comes according to the former name of an Asian country, Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka was known as ‘Ceylon’ until 1972. Cinnamon grown in Ceylon is known as’ Ceylon cinnamon’.

Spices are associated with the life of Sri Lankans. Cinnamon is come to top of those spices. The topical climate, rich soil and abundant rain in south cost of the country provide the ideal habitat for the growth of spices.

Sri Lanka holds the monopoly of international market belongs to Cinnamomum verum products. The 80%-90% of world production of Ceylon cinnamon originates from Sri Lanka. Rest of production comes from Seychelles, Madagascar and few other countries.

How to identify true cinnamon

High quality pure cinnamon comes only from Sri Lanka. If you are buying quills, differentiation is even easier as the form of quills are native to Sri-Lanka. You will find several folds of light brown clour layers, filling the cavity like a cigar in true quills. Cassia quills will have inward folded thick and dark brown layers (mostly single) that creating a hollow in the middle. Additionally, above Table-01 is showing all differences between two major varieties.

Cinnamon products

Sticks

Quills
Full tubes, typically 42 inches long cinnamon sticks that prepared using scrapped inner bark of the plant on joined together by small overlaps. The hollow has been filled with small pieces of the peel and thereafter dried under air curing.

Quillings
Broken cinnamon tubes (broken quills), pieces and splits of varying sizes of all grades.

Featherings
Pieces of inner bark obtained by peeling and/or scraping the bark of small twigs and stalks of plantation shoots which may include a quantity of chips (unpeelable bark) as specified.

Chips
Dried unpeelable bark inclusive of the outer bark which has been obtained by beating or scraping the remaining shoots in the plantation after harvest.

Cinnamon powder

Also known as ground cinnamon, this is powdered cinnamon sticks. Be careful when you are buying ground form.  The producer has chances to use low quality parts to prepare ground products. It is difficulty identify the quality of product in powder form.

Cinnamon oil

Cinnamon essential oil distillation in Sri Lanka would have probably commenced during the Dutch regime. Sri Lanka has been the traditional producer and exporter of value added products include cinnamon bark oil and leaf oil.

Cinnamomum verum generates two types of essential oil as leaf oil and bark oil. This bark oil (known as liquid cinnamon) contains cinnamaldehyde while eugenol is the major constituent in leaf oils.

Leaf oil

The cinnamon leaf oil obtains through steam distillation on collected leaf and twigs that remains on the cultivation after harvesting. Cinnamomum verum leaf oil contains higher amount of eugenol (68 – 87%) and less amount of cinnamaldehyde (0.5 – 1%).

The leaves are obtained as a by-product of the industry. The leaf oil is cheaper than bark oil and internal consumption not recommended.

Bark oil
The other form of essential oil, the bark oil is the result of steam distillation of cinnamon bark. This contains mostly cinnamaldehyde (63 – 75%) and eugenol (2 – 13%).

The cinnamon bark oil is one of the expensive essential oils in the market. The quality of bark oils depend on the material used to distill the oil. Quills are always recommended to obtain high quality bark oil, but it is not always used for the distillation.

Cassia oil
Unlike the two categories of Sri Lanka cinnamon oil, only one category of essential oil exists in cinnamomum cassia. This is because Cassia oil is distilled from a mixture of many parts of the tree. So, there is only one type of cassia oil exists.

Benefits

Treatment for diabetes

Scientists have found that cinnamon helps for people to control blood sugar levels. According to a recent study completed in 2012 by few US health organizations have confirmed, the consumption of this spice is associated with a statistically significant decrease in levels of fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride levels, and an increase in HDL-C levels.

For high blood pressure

Due to the presence of chemical components of cinnamon which has positive effects on the circulatory system, it lowers blood pressure. A research conducted by Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto (2013) has conformed use of cinnamon is associated with a notable reduction in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP).

The results of the study recommend cinnamon for blood pressure control. According to the results, short term intake of of this spice dropped SBP and DBP blood pressure by 5.39 mm Hg and 2.6 mm Hg, respectively.

Cholesterol lowering effect

There’s evidence that cinnamon can lower cholesterol levels. The cholesterol-lowering effects also have been confirmed through animal studies. Several human studies have carried out to confirm the effect.

A study conducted by NWFP Agricultural University, Pakistan, shows cinnamon reduce the mean fasting serum glucose by 18-29%, triglyceride by 23-30%, LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by 7-27%, and total cholesterol by 12-26%. There was no noticeable change on HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) levels.

Weight loss

Controlled eating plan and daily exercise greatly increase the chance of achieving your weight loss targets. In addition, cinnamon could be provide significant side support in reduce your weight. Because of weight loss and cinnamon are connected together through insulin boosting and related abilities.

There was a study published by the University of Navarra, Spain, concluded cinnamon extracts as a potentially important anti-obesogenic extracts, due to its body fat-lowering effects. According to the study, Cinnamomum extracts prevented the increase in fat mass promoted by the high-fat-sucrose (HFS) diet in an animal model.

Side effects

True cinnamon is a safe spice. Every traditional Sri Lankan food dishes contain this spice as a flavoring agent. US department of health agency noted amount up to 6 grams daily for 6 weeks or less is safe if you intake cinnamon as a supplement.

Chinese cassia contains much higher concentrations of coumarin (the Ceylon variety contains about 0.004% coumarin, while Cassia contains 5-8%). Level of naturally occurring coumarin in cassia is 1200 times higher and may cause significant health problems if consumed in large amounts on a regular basis and can spell trouble for the liver and kidney. You can eat cinnamomum verum as much as you like, because it doesn’t have negative impact on your health.

Coumarin

Coumarin is a fragrant organic chemical compound found in many natural foods. It is moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys. According to tolerable daily intake (TDI) level established by German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), regular use of over 0.1 mg coumarin per kg body weight generates health risk. European health agencies have warned against regular use of cassia cinnamon because of its high amounts of coumarin content. Based on analysis done by BfR, one table spoon of cassia cinnamon powder contains 5.8 to 12.1 mg of coumarin, which is above than TDI valve for mid-range humans.

Where to buy genuine products?

Buy worldwide

Sri Lanka is the safest place you could access true cinnamon. This is simply because Sri Lanka is the sole and exclusive producer of Cinnamomum verum products. When buying, it is also important to be able to recognize true product from other inferior brands such as Cassia which is commonly available in the market. Cassia is being sold largely in the name of cinnamon at convention stores and other physical places. Hence if you are buying cinnamon from somewhere else in the world, always make sure to check the producer.

It is available in spice stores and supermarkets than local grocery stores in your country. Sri Lankan suppliers and growers usually do not maintain retails stores in other countries. But, some retailers sell cinnamomum verum in their stores that imported from Sri Lanka. If you can locate a Sri Lankan spice shop in your country, true cinnamon should be available there.

Buy online

However in buying true cinnamon, the smartest way for a buyer from another part of the world is to buy it online, from a Sri-Lankan online vendor who specifically has their own plantations in the country. They provide you recently harvested products from mother land to your door-step.

Some Sri Lankan vendors have been delivering their products worldwide from years, and their reputation is too worthy for them to risk it by selling anything less than pure cinnamon to their customers.

Cassia or sub varieties are not growing in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, Cassia related spices are not available in the Sri Lankan market. Hence, product you receive from Sri Lanka definitely be a Ceylon cinnamon product and it contains all attached health benefits, taste and aroma.

Your best bet is to purchase your product from a reputable online dealer who clearly labels their packages. They bring in fresh bark from Sri Lanka and would never put their reputation under hazard by selling wrong product instead of the true one. There are trustworthy sites offering customer feedback and testimonials which will be of great use to the buyers looking for Ceylon cinnamon.

Related:

• Sampling of Cinnamon Quills
• Specification for Cinnamon Whole or Ground
• Types of cinnamon
•        23 Health benefits of cinnamon
•        The Antiadenovirus Activities of Cinnamaldehyde In Vitro
•        BfR proposes maximum levels for coumarin in food 
•        Specifications for Sri Lankan essential oils
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