Field guide
Ceylon cinnamon vs cassia: how to tell them apart, and why it matters
If a jar just says “cinnamon”, it is almost certainly cassia. Here is the difference in one picture, one table, and a few plain answers.
| Ceylon (true cinnamon) | Cassia | |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Cinnamomum verum | C. cassia, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi |
| Main origin | Sri Lanka | China, Indonesia, Vietnam |
| Stick appearance | Many paper-thin layers rolled together | A single thick, hard curl |
| Colour | Pale tan | Dark red-brown |
| Texture | Brittle, crumbles by hand | Hard, needs a grinder |
| Flavour | Sweet, floral, delicate | Sharp, hot, assertive |
| Coumarin | Trace amounts | Roughly 1% by weight |
| Typical price | Higher | Lower |
Why most cinnamon is cassia
Cassia bark is thick, tough and easy to harvest and process by machine, which makes it far cheaper to produce at scale. Ceylon cinnamon has to be peeled by hand: a worker strips the paper-thin inner bark from a young shoot, dries it, and rolls the sheets into a quill. That labour is the price difference.
Neither is a counterfeit. Cassia is a legitimate spice and it is what most people in North America actually mean when they say cinnamon. The problem is only that the word covers both, so a shopper who wants one has no easy way to tell which is in the jar.
The coumarin question, stated carefully
Coumarin is a naturally occurring compound that gives cassia much of its scent. It is also hepatotoxic at sufficient doses, which is why the European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, roughly 7 mg for a 70 kg adult.
Published analysis puts cassia at around one percent coumarin by weight and Ceylon at trace levels, a difference of about three orders of magnitude. In practice that means a daily teaspoon of cassia can approach or pass the tolerable intake, while the same amount of Ceylon does not come close.
This is general information about the two species, not health or dietary advice. If you have a liver condition, take blood thinners, or are considering cinnamon in supplement-sized doses, talk to a doctor or pharmacist rather than a spice company.
How to check what you have at home
- Look at the cut end of a stick. Many thin layers means Ceylon; one thick curl means cassia.
- Try to crush it. Ceylon crumbles between your fingers. Cassia does not.
- Read the label for a species name. Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum means Ceylon. If no species is named, assume cassia.
- Check the origin. Sri Lanka points to Ceylon; China, Indonesia or Vietnam point to cassia.
Common questions
Is Ceylon cinnamon the same as regular cinnamon?
No. Almost all cinnamon sold in North American supermarkets is cassia, from Cinnamomum cassia, burmannii or loureiroi. Ceylon cinnamon is Cinnamomum verum, a different species grown mainly in Sri Lanka. They are sold under the same word but they are not the same spice.
How can I tell Ceylon from cassia by looking at it?
Look at the end of the stick. A Ceylon quill is rolled from many paper-thin sheets of bark and shows ten or more layers, like a tiny cigar. Cassia is a single thick curl of hard bark. Ceylon is also lighter, a pale tan rather than a dark red-brown, and it crumbles easily between your fingers.
Which cinnamon is better for baking?
It depends on what you want. Cassia is sharper and more assertive, which is why it dominates cinnamon rolls and commercial baking. Ceylon is sweeter, more floral and less biting, so it suits custards, rice puddings, delicate cakes and anything where the cinnamon should not overpower. If you bake with cinnamon daily, Ceylon also keeps coumarin intake at trace levels.
What is coumarin and why does it matter?
Coumarin is a naturally occurring aromatic compound found in cassia. It is hepatotoxic at sufficient doses, so the European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, about 7 mg for a 70 kg adult. Cassia contains roughly one percent coumarin by weight; Ceylon contains only trace amounts. Occasional culinary use of either is not the concern. Daily teaspoon-level use of cassia is.
What do the grades C5, C4 and M mean?
They describe the quill, not the quality. The letter refers to a historical export market and the number to the diameter of the rolled quill. C5 quills are slim and tightly rolled; C4 are slightly larger. Alba is the finest and thinnest. A higher grade does not mean a stronger spice, it means a neater, more uniform quill.
Where are your spices grown and packed?
Everything is grown in Sri Lanka and packed there by a single certified organic processor before being imported to Canada by Ceylon Valley Inc., based in Ajax, Ontario. Each batch carries a certificate of analysis.
What makes a good whole clove?
The head. A clove is an unopened flower bud and most of the volatile oil sits in the round tip. Cheap clove lots are stem-heavy and dusty. Ours are specified at a minimum of seventy percent heads. Press one with a fingernail; a fresh clove leaves an oily mark.