Did You Know There Are Different Types of Cinnamon?

There's nothing quite like biting into a fluffy baked good or sipping on a cozy drink that's fragrant with the sweet, spicy aroma of cinnamon. Cinnamon is one of the most common spices used in baking and cooking around the world, and for good reason: it adds the perfect finishing touch. Whether it's a dash of ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick infused in a drink or sauce for its fragrant aroma, cinnamon elevates any dish that you make. And yet, with so many different types of cinnamon out there, deciding which cinnamon to buy can get rather confusing. How do you know what types of cinnamon are in those shakers at the store? Will your food taste different if you use Ceylon or cassia?

Here, we dive into the different types of cinnamon, what they taste and smell like, and what is best used for cooking, baking and shaking up a tasty cocktail at home.

What Is Cinnamon?

Cinnamon is a spice used in a variety of foods and even in some herbal medicines, drinks, essential oils and perfumes.

How Does Cinnamon Grow?

Cinnamon comes from a bushy evergreen tree of the Lauraceae family; the spice is produced from the tree's bark. The dried inner bark is brown, fragrant and sweet. Cinnamon trees grow in moist, well-drained soil and can reach around 50 feet in height.

Where Does Cinnamon Come From?

Cinnamon comes from a variety of places, most commonly from Sri Lanka where it is native. Cinnamon trees also grow in other South Asian countries such as Myanmar, and along India's Malabar Coast. Cinnamon can also be found in South America and the West Indies, as well as China.

How Is Cinnamon Harvested?

To harvest cinnamon, the growers have to cut the shoots of the tree from the ground. The shoots are scraped, loosened, peeled and left to dry for four or five days, then rolled and tied tightly and placed in subdued sunlight. Once finished, the cinnamon is bleached with sulfur dioxide to get rid of contaminants like fungal diseases or pests, which does result in a lighter color. Then the cinnamon is sorted into types of grades for selling. Grades are based on the diameter of the cinnamon sticks (known as quills). For ground cinnamon, those sticks are then processed and packaged.

What Are the Different Types of Cinnamon?

Different types of cinnamon can change the taste and the smell of what you are cooking or baking. The two commonly available types are Ceylon and cassia.

So how do you know if your cinnamon is Ceylon or cassia, and which is better to use for cooking? Here's how to differentiate the two.

Ceylon

"Ceylon cinnamon has a much more mild flavor and a much more fibrous look," says Chef Tony Reed, executive director of culinary innovation at Spiceology. "[It] is subtle, smells very mild, and is slightly sweeter in taste. Ceylon is also known as Mexican cinnamon, and/or true cinnamon."

Ceylon is referred to as Mexican cinnamon because it is commonly used in Mexican cuisine, but this type of cinnamon is actually native to Sri Lanka where it is commonly imported from. The cinnamon bark tends to be thinner and softer, has a lighter color, and the flavor is milder and sweeter compared to the more popular cassia.

Cassia

There's a good chance that the cinnamon currently sitting in your pantry is cassia, given that's the most common cinnamon variety out there. According to Alyse Baca, culinary director at Spicewalla, cassia is "significantly warm, spicy, [has a] strong flavor and is dark brown in color."

While cassia is originally native to China, you may see three different types of this cinnamon on store shelves. According to Reed, the slight differences in aroma and flavor between the three types of cassia cinnamon have to do not only with where they're grown, but also with their levels of coumarin—a chemical responsible for cinnamon's sweet smell.

• Chinese: Compared to the other two types, cassia from China tends to be less aromatic. The color of this cinnamon can vary based on the type of bark it comes from: it can be light reddish brown from thin, scraped bark, or gray from thicker, unscraped bark. "Chinese cassia is used primarily in China as a medication for coughs and decreasing phlegm," says Reed. "Chinese cassia also tends to be more pungent, less sweet and slightly bitter due to wetter soil conditions."
• Saigon (Vietnamese): Compared to Chinese cassia, Saigon cinnamon has a lighter color and tends to have the boldest, most potent flavor because it contains the highest amount of cinnamaldehyde, a naturally occurring flavonoid (antioxidant) that gives cinnamon its flavor and aroma. "Saigon is spicier and stronger while also being sweet in comparison to other cinnamon," says Reed. "It's slightly more expensive than other cassia but also carries the highest amount of coumarin."
• Korintje (Indonesian): According to Reed, cassia cinnamon actually makes up 70% of the cinnamon consumed in the U.S., and Indonesia works as the largest supplier for domestic markets, making Korintje one of the most popular types of cassia cinnamon seen on shelves. That's because Korintje is much cheaper and easier to harvest than Ceylon, which is harvested by hand versus in a factory. Korintje cinnamon bark is light in color and is typically the type of stick you see available at your local grocery store. It is sweeter than other varieties, and has less volatile oil content compared to Saigon, giving it that smoother and less spicy finish.

Which Type of Cinnamon Is Best?

Now that you know the differences between cinnamons, you're likely wondering which type is best to use while cooking at home. Should you stick to your grocery brand, which is likely Korintje from Indonesia? Or should you splurge on a Saigon cassia cinnamon or a Ceylon?

According to Baca, it depends on what you are whipping up in the kitchen.

"If you are using cinnamon in baked goods or in a marinade or rub, I would recommend cassia so the bold flavor of cinnamon comes through in the final dish," she says. "If you are freshly grating a cinnamon stick as a garnish on a cocktail or sprinkling cinnamon powder on a latte, then the delicate, sweet flavor of Ceylon cinnamon would be the best choice."

How to Use Cinnamon Sticks

Cinnamon sticks can be used to flavor a dish instead of simply mixing in a powder, which can fare nicely depending on the type of dish you are making at home.

According to Baca, anything that has to soak to get the flavor should use a cinnamon stick instead of ground powder, which should only be used if the recipe you are cooking needs a more evenly distributed flavor.

"I love adding cinnamon sticks to a wet brine, pickling liquid, ice cream or custard base, anything that has time to soak up the flavor from the bark," she says. Reed does the same thing by mixing in his cinnamon sticks with soups and sauces, like a cranberry sauce around the holidays.

Baca also enjoys burning a cinnamon stick like incense to make a room smell good, and Reed says cinnamon sticks are his go-to when mixing together a drink—like this Apple-Ginger Moscow Mule Mocktail.

"I love using whole cinnamon sticks in my cocktails," he explains. "I take a kitchen torch and scorch it to activate the oils and stir it into my drink of choice."

How Long Does Cinnamon Last?

While spices technically never "go bad," Baca does point out that spices can lose their potency and freshness over time. So be sure to keep your purchase date in mind when you buy cinnamon. "My advice for the best flavor of cinnamon sticks and powder is to use them within a year of buying them," she says.

"Cinnamon sticks, being the 'whole' version of cinnamon, are probably safe to keep in a dark and cool space before it starts to lose the oils that give it its flavor, color, and aroma," says Reed.

Health Benefits of Cinnamon

"Cinnamon is packed with antioxidants that protect our bodies from harmful free radicals," says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, cookbook author and founder of Once Upon a Pumpkin. "These antioxidants help fight inflammation, reduce stress caused by oxidation and support our defense against chronic diseases and illness."

Michalczyk also points out how cinnamon can help to regulate blood sugar levels. A 2021 review published in Food & Function suggests that cinnamon can improve insulin sensitivity, which helps to control a person's glucose levels. "By slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates and enhancing insulin signaling, cinnamon can help prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes," she says.

On the other hand, because some versions of cassia cinnamon have a high amount of coumarin, consumers should be careful. Overconsumption of coumarin has been linked to liver damage, and thus cassia should only be consumed in small quantities. The tolerable daily intake of coumarin is around 0.05 milligrams per pound of body weight, so keeping cassia consumption to under a teaspoon a day is safest.

Is one type of cinnamon healthier than the other? Given that Ceylon cinnamon contains little to no coumarin, it would be considered the healthiest type of cinnamon to have if you plan to consume it regularly compared to cassia. Research shows that cinnamon may be beneficial for people with diabetes by helping to increase insulin sensitivity for steadier blood sugar levels, but it should still be consumed with caution. If you are considering adding cinnamon to your routine to help manage your blood sugar, be sure to talk to a doctor about safe quantities.

Bottom Line

Cinnamon is a spice that's made from tree bark, typically in South Asian countries. There are two types of cinnamon: Ceylon (native to Sri Lanka, commonly found in Mexican cuisine) and cassia (typically grown in China, Vietnam and Indonesia). Korintje, grown in Indonesia, is the most common type of cinnamon sold in the United States and tends to have a sweeter and smoother taste. Cinnamon is commonly used in cooking as well as in some herbal medicine treatments. The spice's potential health benefits derive from its antioxidant properties that may help lower the risk of disease, reduce stress and inflammation and even benefit blood sugar levels.