Things you MUST know: Ceylon Cinnamon vs Saigon Cinnamon

Cinnamon isn’t just a Spice — it’s both a culture and a lifestyle, and you can enjoy top quality true Cinnamon from Acril Tea.

Is Ceylon Cinnamon the same as Saigon cinnamon?

There are four main varieties of cinnamon in the world market, Ceylon Cinnamon, Cassia, Saigon, and Korintje. From these varieties, Ceylon Cinnamon is identified as true cinnamon, and others are all considered as Cassia.

True Cinnamon has a golden-brown color, aromatic fragrance, warm taste, and sweet flavor. True Cinnamon also has higher oil content than cassia.

Cinnamon produces from both thick and thin bark of the tree. Therefore, all the sun-dried barks are made into sticks or quills.

A true cinnamon stick looks more like a cigarette or a pencil. Several thin layers of bark are rolled up into a cinnamon stick. But cassia uses only one thick bark layer to rolled up to make a stick.

As mentioned before, Cassia, Saigon, and Korintje are all classified under Cassia, because they are very similar to each other with only slight variations in color, taste, shape and Coumarin content.

Coumarin is a natural flavoring that we can find in many plants. but, Ceylon cinnamon only contains a low amount of coumarin which is safe. High coumarin consumption is bad for your health. It damages your kidneys and liver.

Cassia is usually cheaper in cost than the true Ceylon Cinnamon. But some sellers make a profit from Cassia by mislabeling them as True Cinnamon.

Natural History and Cultivation – True Cinnamon

Cinnamomum zeylanicum is the botanical name of Ceylon Cinnamon, and sometimes calls Cinnamomum Verum. This plant belongs to the family of Lauraceae.

So, Cinnamon mainly plants by seeds, rooted cuttings, and air layering under natural tropical conditions.

In Sri Lanka, it grows under varying weather conditions, ranging from semi-dry to wet-zone conditions. But, the most suitable temperature is between 25 C and 30 C.

The plant grows to a height of 10 – 15m with a girth of 30-50cm. after 2 to 2 and a half years of the time period, cinnamon gets older to harvest.

When the bark of the tree turns into brown, it is a good time to harvest. consequently, In a well-maintained plantation, after the first harvest of cinnamon, harvesting can be done twice a year.

The traditional way of cinnamon peeling and bundling is unique to Sri Lanka. and it is a highly labor-intensive operation.

As a result, the labor costs make up about 60 percent of the total production cost. The process of Cinnamon peeling in Sri Lanka involves the harvesting of sticks, removing knots, scraping, rubbing with a brass rod and peeling with a knife. but Cassia does not have that type of peeling process and labor cost.

According to our marketing department`s export reports, USA, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Equador, Spain are the main markets for our Cinnamon.

However, we are exporting a considerable amount of Cinnamon to Guatemala, Chile, Germany, France, Canada, and Bolivia.

What do we maintain in our Cinnamon,

Color	Pale brown (Golden brown) to slightly reddish color Ground cinnamon – yellowish to reddish brown in color
Aroma	Characteristic fresh aroma
Flavor	Delicate and sweet flavor characteristic to Ceylon cinnamon.
Moisture	Not more than 15% for quills and 12% for other grades
Volatile Oil	Minimum 1% for quills and 0.7% for other grades on dry basis.