On a supermarket shelf the two kinds of cinnamon look fairly similar. Put them side by side and look at the cut end, and the difference appears at once.
The cinnamon grown in Vietnam belongs to the cassia group; Ceylon cinnamon is a different species, originating in Sri Lanka. They differ in four easily seen ways: bark thickness, how the stick rolls, the character of the smell, and the coumarin content of the bark.
Four differences
- Bark: cassia is thick, hard, usually rolled into one solid layer. Ceylon is thin and brittle, rolled into many fine layers nested inside one another.
- Colour: cassia is dark, from reddish brown to deep brown. Ceylon is lighter, leaning towards yellow brown.
- Smell: cassia is stronger, clearly spicy and thickly sweet. Ceylon is lighter, finer, with a floral note.
- Coumarin: cassia has a markedly higher coumarin content; Ceylon is very low.
On coumarin, said in measure
Coumarin is a compound naturally present in cassia cinnamon bark. Some food safety authorities have issued guidance on daily coumarin intake. We are not giving figures and not giving dosage advice here, because this belongs to food safety expertise and those levels should be read from official sources. If you use cinnamon frequently in large amounts, that is a question to put to someone qualified.
For using cinnamon as a spice in ordinary kitchen amounts, this is not a daily concern. For using it as a material or as a candle vessel as in our own product line, the bark does not enter the food chain at all.
Which one for which purpose
For dishes that need a strong smell, a thick base and clear heat, cassia usually suits better: a pho pot, braised dishes, things steeped in liquid. For cakes, desserts and tea, many people prefer Ceylon for its fine character that does not dominate. For use as a material, cassia has a clear advantage because the bark is thick and holds its form.
At ZUNGZA we work with Vietnamese cinnamon bark of the cassia group, because this is the kind with the thickness and curve suited to joining into a vessel. That is a choice driven by material requirements, not a judgement that one kind is better than the other.
A few questions you often send us
How can I tell them apart when buying
Look at the cut end of the stick. If you see one thick, solid layer of bark rolled into a hard tube, that is cassia. If you see many thin layers nested together that break crisply when squeezed gently, that is Ceylon.
Which one is more expensive
Ceylon cinnamon usually costs more on the international market. Price is not a measure of quality for every purpose, because the two kinds go into two different groups of use.
Which type is the ground cinnamon sold in markets
In Vietnam, most cinnamon powder sold generally comes from cassia. If you need a specific kind, look for the species on the label or ask the seller, because once it is ground you cannot tell by eye.