Almost Every Cinnamon Stick Sold as Cinnamon Is Cassia

This looks at telling cassia apart from Ceylon cinnamon from the practical end — what holds up once conditions stop being ideal.

Two different barks

Ceylon cinnamon comes from Cinnamomum verum and is grown mainly in Sri Lanka and parts of southern India. Cassia comes from several related species grown across China, Indonesia and Vietnam, and it is far cheaper to produce.

Most countries permit both to be sold under the single word cinnamon with no further qualification on the label. The consequence is that the stick in an average kitchen cupboard is cassia unless it was bought deliberately. This is less a scandal than a labelling convention that nobody explains at the point of sale.

Telling them apart

Ceylon quills are thin, pale tan and built from many fine layers rolled together in the manner of a cigar. Cassia is a single thick curl of dark reddish bark, hard enough that breaking it by hand is a genuine effort.

In the pot, snap a Ceylon quill and it shatters into flakes, whereas cassia resists and then splits along the grain. Ground, the difference is harder to see, although Ceylon powder is generally lighter and finer in texture. Price is the crudest indicator available at the shelf and also one of the most reliable.

How they behave in a pan

Cassia is blunter, hotter and more assertive, with a sweet-woody character that carries straight through milk. Ceylon is more delicate, more citric and considerably more complex, with much less of that forward punch.

In a heavily spiced masala chai the subtlety of Ceylon is largely wasted underneath the ginger and clove. In a light, low-spice cup or a Kashmiri kahwa, Ceylon is clearly and obviously the better choice. Cassia is not the inferior spice in this context; it is the one that survives the method you are using.

The coumarin question

Cassia contains substantially more coumarin, a compound that several national food safety bodies have issued intake guidance about. Ceylon contains only trace amounts, which is why it is often suggested for people eating cinnamon daily in quantity. The amount in a cup or two of chai is very small, and the guidance concerns habitual heavy consumption over time.

In the pot, anyone taking cinnamon as a supplement rather than a seasoning should check the figures and speak to a doctor.

For ordinary cooking this is a reason to know what you are buying rather than a reason for alarm.

Substituting one for the other

Cassia is stronger by weight, so replacing it with Ceylon usually means using around half as much again. Ceylon also breaks down faster in a long boil and gives up its character noticeably sooner in the process. Add Ceylon a little later and cassia right at the start if you want the best from whichever you have.

Ground cassia stales more slowly than ground Ceylon, which is a small point in its favour for prepared blends. Keeping both is not extravagant for anyone who makes chai and bakes with any regularity at all.

Every household disagrees about this, and every household is right about its own cup.

Buying without being fooled

Buy quills rather than powder, because the shape of the roll is the clearest identification you will ever get. Check the country of origin on the packet, since Sri Lanka on the label almost always means genuine Ceylon. The phrase true cinnamon usually indicates Ceylon but carries no legal weight in most jurisdictions.

Ground fresh, a spice shop that stocks both will show you the difference across a counter in about ten seconds. Once you have handled the two side by side you will never confuse them again.

The takeaway

Look at the roll before you look at the label, because the roll is the part that cannot lie.

A good glass is mostly fresh spice and the patience to let it boil twice.