Ceylon Cinnamon Alba

True cinnamon is one of the oldest and most coveted spices in human history. For millennia it has been at the heart of trade routes, colonial wars and imperial strategies — a spice so precious that some historians place it among the direct causes of the great European explorations of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Its earliest documented traces go back to ancient Egypt, around 2,000 BCE. The Egyptians used it in their embalming preparations and ritual offerings. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 30:23, Proverbs 7:17), in the oldest Sanskrit Ayurvedic texts, and in Greek accounts from the 7th century BCE — Sappho already evokes cassia in her poems.

The Greeks and Romans knew cinnamon but were unaware of its exact provenance. Arab traders told them that it was guarded by giant birds that built their nests with its branches. This absurd fable, reported in earnest by Herodotus, illustrates how far intermediaries went to protect their trade circuits.

When Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498 and discovered that cinnamon grew abundantly along the Malabar Coast, it triggered a commercial revolution. The Portuguese quickly took control of Sri Lanka and established the first organised colonial monopoly on a spice. In 1638, the Dutch wrested Sri Lanka from the Portuguese. A dazzled Dutch captain wrote: the shores of the island are covered with it, and when the wind blows seaward, the scent of cinnamon can be felt eight leagues offshore.

The British took control of Sri Lanka from the Dutch in 1796, consolidating their dominance over the global cinnamon trade. At the same time, however, cultivation spread to Jamaica, Brazil, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, progressively breaking the monopoly.

Today, Sri Lanka produces around 80 to 90% of the world output of Cinnamomum verum. India — and Kerala in particular — produces the rest, and the quality of the cinnamon from the Western Ghats is considered by many connoisseurs to be equal to, or even superior to, the Ceylonese.

Did you know?

• Cinnamon was once literally more valuable than gold — entire cargoes justified colonial wars, the assassinations of kings and the fall of kingdoms
• The "holy anointing oil" of Exodus (30:23) contains cinnamon — a testament to its sacred value more than 3,000 years ago
• The war between Pazhassi Raja and the East India Company over the Anjarakandy plantation is one of the earliest armed conflicts of colonial India
• 90 to 95% of the "cinnamon" sold in France is in fact cassia — there is no European law requiring the botanical species to be specified
• Cassia is officially banned in India under the label "cinnamon" since the 2000s — but is still massively sold under the misleading name "dalchini"
• A single teaspoon of cassia can contain up to 18 mg of coumarin — that is 18 times the daily tolerated dose set by the EFSA for an adult weighing 100 kg

Cinnamon across languages

The etymology of the word "cinnamon" comes from the Old French canel (12th century), derived from medieval Latin canella — a diminutive of canna (tube, reed), referring to the cylindrical shape of the rolled sticks. That same Latin canna also gave "canon", "canal" and "channel" in English. The scientific name Cinnamomum comes from the Greek kinnamomon, borrowed from the Phoenician qinnamon — a root also found in biblical Hebrew.

Cinnamomum verum is one of the rare spices whose natural range includes both Sri Lanka and South India. The tree is indigenous — native, growing in the wild — to the humid forests of the Western Ghats, in particular in Kerala. This common origin explains why Kerala cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon share the same botanical name and a very similar aromatic profile.

The Western Ghats — India's cinnamon homeland

• Cinnamon grows naturally in the humid tropical forests of the Western Ghats — classified by UNESCO as one of the 8 most important biodiversity hotspots in the world
• In Kerala, cinnamon trees can be found in nearly every garden of the hill zones — a presence so long-standing that it is part of the domestic landscape
• The Kannur district (northern Kerala) is home to the Anjarakandy plantation — one of the largest cinnamon plantations in Asia, founded in 1767
• Commercial production is concentrated in the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode (Calicut), Wayanad and Thrissur
• Unlike Sri Lanka, where production is semi-industrialised, Kerala cinnamon is mostly harvested by hand — sticks of less regular shape but with exceptional aromatic quality

Botany

Cinnamomum verum is an evergreen tree of the Lauraceae family. In the wild, it reaches 10 to 15 metres; in plantations, it is pruned to 2-3 metres to make harvesting easier. The first harvest takes place after 3 years, and the tree can produce for 40 to 50 years.

Making cinnamon quills is a manual craft that remains fundamentally non-mechanisable for the finest grades. The branches are cut, the outer bark is scraped away, then the inner bark — extremely thin (0.5 to 1 mm) — is peeled off, rolled into multiple layers and slowly dried in the shade. As it dries, the bark curls naturally into a spiral, forming the characteristic multi-layered quill.

True cinnamon develops an aromatic profile of a delicacy and complexity that bears no resemblance to the pungent power of cassia. It is precisely this subtlety that earns it its status as a noble spice.

The main aromatic compound is trans-cinnamaldehyde (49.9 to 62.8% of the essential oil of the bark), accompanied by eugenol (10-15%), linalool (3-5%) and beta-caryophyllene (2-3%). Cassia contains up to 95% cinnamaldehyde but almost no eugenol or linalool — which explains its one-dimensional profile.

True cinnamon vs cassia — the aromatic comparison

True cinnamon calls for a different approach from cassia in the kitchen. Its delicacy is a quality, not a weakness — provided it is used in preparations that bring this subtlety to the fore.

In Indian cooking

• In gentle garam masala: true cinnamon brings roundness and floral complexity to North Indian spice blends
• In chai: a small stick in the hot milk — true cinnamon yields a more floral and delicate chai than cassia
• In kheer and dairy desserts: pairs perfectly with rose, saffron and cardamom
• In mild lamb biryanis: a small quantity added at the end of cooking or to the rice water
• Infused in syrups: for cold drinks and aromatic waters
• In mukhwas: a fine powder blended with anise, coriander and fennel seeds

In French cooking — perfect pairings

• Tarte Tatin and apple tart: dust with freshly ground true cinnamon just before serving — the residual heat releases the aromas without degrading them
• Crème brûlée with cinnamon and cardamom: infuse a whole stick in the hot cream
• Morning hot chocolate: a pinch of ground true cinnamon — a classic pairing
• French toast and brioche: replace cassia with true cinnamon for a more floral dimension
• Fruit compotes: pear, rhubarb, cherries, damsons — true cinnamon underlines the fruit without masking it
• Poultry or lamb tagine with prunes: a Franco-Maghrebi classic in which true cinnamon shines

In international cooking

• Mexican hot chocolate: the Mexican tradition uses C. verum — sweeter and more complex than cassia
• Mulled wine and hippocras: true cinnamon was the original ingredient of medieval spiced wines
• Fine pastry: Austrian strudel, Sicilian cannoli, baklava — wherever cinnamon needs to be elegant
• Rice pudding and set custards: infusion of a whole stick in heating milk — an incomparably finer result

Techniques of use

• Whole stick for long infusions: chai, mulled wine, compotes, milk — remove before serving
• Grind at the last moment: true cinnamon, being friable, grinds very easily in a coffee mill or mortar
• Powder over the finished dish: residual heat is enough to release the aromas
• Cold infusion: a stick in cold water or milk for 8 hours — for summer drinks

True cinnamon is one of the most scientifically studied spices. Hundreds of clinical and preclinical studies have been published on its properties, particularly since the discovery of its antidiabetic potential in the 1990s and 2000s. Its decisive advantage over cassia is the near-total absence of coumarin, which alone makes it truly safe for daily use.

The main active compounds are trans-cinnamaldehyde (anti-inflammatory), eugenol (antibacterial, analgesic), linalool (anxiolytic), proanthocyanidins and catechins (antidiabetic), and dimeric and tetrameric procyanidins (documented insulin-like activity).

Documented properties

• Antidiabetic and glycaemic regulation: this is the most firmly established property. A meta-analysis published in the Annals of Family Medicine confirms a significant improvement in glycaemic control markers, including glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Mechanisms: activation of beta-insulin receptors, increased expression of the GLUT4 transporter, inhibition of intestinal alpha-glucosidases
• Cardiovascular: documented reduction in LDL cholesterol without decreasing HDL — vasodilation, reduction of vascular inflammation, and mild anticoagulant properties
• Anti-inflammatory: cinnamaldehyde inhibits the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-6) and the NF-kB factor
• Antimicrobial and antifungal: documented efficacy against E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and Candida albicans
• Neuroprotective: aqueous extracts of C. verum inhibit the aggregation of the tau protein and dissolve tau filaments — a mechanism linked to the prevention of Alzheimer's disease
• Antioxidant: very rich in polyphenols (vanillic acid, gallic acid, catechins, epicatechins) — one of the highest ORAC indices among spices
• Digestive: the EMA (European Medicines Agency) officially approves the use of C. verum bark for the treatment of mild spasmodic gastrointestinal complaints, bloating and flatulence

The danger of coumarin — why choose true cinnamon

How to identify true cinnamon when buying

• Stick structure: multiple fine layers rolled together, friable — can be ground in an ordinary coffee mill. If the stick is hard and thick, it is cassia
• Colour: light brown, beige to tawny — never deep red-brown or mahogany (a sign of cassia)
• Label: check for the mention "Cinnamomum verum" or "Ceylon cinnamon". The simple mention "Ceylon cinnamon" is not enough — insist on the botanical name
• Price: quality true cinnamon costs between 15 and 60 EUR/kg depending on the grade — anything below 8 EUR/kg is almost certainly cassia
• Powder: avoid generic powder — it almost always contains cassia. Prefer to grind your own sticks

Quality grades

Storage tips

• Store as whole sticks in an airtight glass jar, away from light, humidity and heat
• Never store above the stove — steam and heat degrade the essential oils
• Optimal shelf life: 2 to 3 years for whole sticks; 6 months maximum once ground
• Pro method: grind small quantities in a coffee mill or mortar, only just before use