True Cinnamon – Crushed, 2-7mm

Brew & Taste

Describing the taste of cinnamon is easy. It's simply cinnamon. Few herbs or fruits could resemble it. Thanks to its high cinnamaldehyde content, you'll recognize cinnamon in seconds. It's sweet, slightly peppery, and honeyed. When brewed, it gives a light infusion.

Crushed cinnamon can be prepared on its own or added to your favorite tea.

Origins

There are 250-350 species of cinnamon trees on Earth. But only two of them are popular globally – Cinnamomum cassia (Chinese cinnamon tree) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon tree). The latter, imported from Sri Lanka, is considered more aromatic and richer in health benefits.

Cinnamon ceylonum is an evergreen tree growing up to 15m. For bark harvesting purposes, it is usually kept 2.5-3m high in plantations. It has stiff, glossy green leaves on the face and greyish on the reverse and is usually grown for its bark harvested as a spice. After young plants are planted, it takes at least 2-3 years before their bark can be carefully removed. In the case of Ceylon cinnamon trees, it is light in color and brittle.

Harvesting is usually done by workers trimming the entire tree, i.e. removing the branches. They peel off the outer bark. They then peel off the lower part (the inner bark) using special tool. They dry the cinnamon rolls in direct sunlight, spread out on tarpaulins. Cinnamon trees are an important source of livelihood for local farmers, so they treat them with care and harvest the cinnamon so that the cinnamon trees can quickly turn green and not die.

Cinnamon has been known since ancient times. In Egypt, it was used to embalm mummies, and people added it to wine. The first record of cinnamon farmers in Sri Lanka dates back to 1270. In 1638, the Dutch set up shop on the island. A Dutch captain at the time enthusiastically reported, "the shores of the island are literally full of it. It is the best in the Orient. When the wind blows in from the mainland, you can smell the cinnamon far out at sea."

Herb packaging preview

We pack our herbs in a strong, zip-lock aluminum packet which allows you to easily re-seal its contents. Thanks to the hermetic seal, the herbs are protected against humidity, light and foreign odors, all of which could noticeably affect the quality of the brew and the herb itself.