🇸🇦 Arabicar
قرفة صينية
qirfa siniyya
Yunnan, China
Cassia Cinnamon
1–2%
essential oil content
of dry bark
80–90%
cinnamaldehyde share
of the volatile oil
0.4–0.8%
coumarin content
EU limits intake
10–12 y
tree age at first harvest
coppiced every 2 years after
Visual atlas
Profile
Cinnamomum cassia, called Chinese cassia, cassia cinnamon, or Chinese cinnamon, is an evergreen tree originating in southern China and widely cultivated there and elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia. It is one of several species of Cinnamomum used primarily for its aromatic bark, which is used as a spice. The buds are also used as a spice, especially in India, and were used by the ancient Romans.
Cassia is the cinnamon most of the world actually eats. Harvested from the thick bark of Cinnamomum cassia trees grown across southern China, northern Vietnam and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it carries a cinnamaldehyde load of 80% or more, giving that familiar candy-shop kick behind American cinnamon rolls, Chinese five-spice and Mexican pan dulce. The bark rolls into hard, single-curl quills the colour of dried blood, denser and woodier than its Ceylon cousin. It also carries coumarin, a compound flagged by European food authorities, which is why Saigon cassia is both loved for its intensity and treated with care in daily baking.
Origin
Yunnan, China.
China
Yunnan · Quảng Nam, Vietnam
Process
01Apr–May
Wet-season felling
Branches cut when the sap is rising — the bark lifts cleanly from the wood. Only trees 10+ years old yield the deep-red inner bark.
02Same day
Bark stripping
Workers score and peel long ribbons of inner bark with curved knives, working in the shade to slow oxidation.
0324–48 h
Fermentation
Ribbons stacked under damp cloth. Enzymes develop the brick-red color and deepen the sweet-woody aroma.
043–5 days
Sun-curling
Laid on bamboo racks. As moisture leaves, the bark curls into thick single-quill scrolls — the cassia signature.
05Grading
Sort by thickness
Tubes graded by wall thickness and oil content. Vietnamese Saigon tops the range at 4–5% cinnamaldehyde by mass.
06Your jar
Sticks or ground
Whole sticks hold aroma 3+ years. Ground cassia fades in 6 months — grate on a microplane as needed.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
GC-MS of Vietnamese Saigon cassia (C. loureiroi): cinnamaldehyde saturates the profile, flanked by coumarin and cinnamyl acetate.
1.8%
Essential oil
average dry bark
85%
Cinnamaldehyde
of the volatile oil
0.6%
Coumarin
of dry bark mass
80+
Volatile compounds
identified
Volatile compound profile
- Cinnamaldehyde85.0%
The signature: hot, sweet, candy-red — the cinnamon smell itself.
- Coumarin3.2%
Sweet hay and tonka bean — distinctive of cassia, trace in Ceylon.
- Cinnamyl acetate2.8%
Soft floral-fruity, softens the cinnamaldehyde punch.
- β-caryophyllene1.9%
Woody-peppery, adds structural depth.
- Eugenol0.5%
Clove-like warmth, far less than in Ceylon.
- Linalool0.4%
Floral lavender trace, barely perceptible.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Cinnamaldehyde | Essential oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Vietnamese Saigon Quảng Nam · highest cinnamaldehyde | 4.5% | 1.8% |
Indonesian Korintje Sumatra · balanced, US supermarket standard | 3.1% | 1.4% |
Chinese Cassia Guangxi · thicker bark, milder oil | 2.8% | 1.1% |
Ceylon (for contrast) Sri Lanka · delicate, almost coumarin-free | 0.9% | 0.7% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
Cassia is the cinnamon of the American pantry — in apple pie, cinnamon rolls, and the sugar-dusted toast of childhood.
- Apple piegrade: vietnamese-saigon
Ground cassia with nutmeg and lemon — the quintessential autumn filling.
- Cinnamon rollsgrade: indonesian-korintje
Thick swirls of cassia-sugar butter baked into yeasted dough.
- Snickerdoodlesgrade: indonesian-korintje
Cookies rolled in cassia-sugar before baking — chewy, caramelised edges.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇧🇩 Bengalibn
কেসিয়া দারুচিনি
kesiya daruchini
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
肉桂
ròuguì
🇳🇱 Dutchnl
Cassia kaneel
🇬🇧 Englishen
Cassia Cinnamon
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Cannelle de Chine
🇩🇪 Germande
Cassia-Zimt
🇮🇳 Hindihi
दालचीनी कैसिया
dalchini cassia
🇮🇩 Indonesianid
Kayu manis cassia
🇮🇹 Italianit
Cannella cassia
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
シナモン・カシア
shinamon kashia
🇰🇷 Koreanko
계피
gyepi
🇲🇾 Malayms
Kayu manis cassia
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Canela cássia
🇷🇺 Russianru
Корица китайская
koritsa kitayskaya
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Canela cassia
🇮🇳 Tamilta
கேசியா இலவங்கப்பட்டை
kesiya ilavangapattai
🇹🇭 Thaith
อบเชยจีน
op choei jin
🇹🇷 Turkishtr
Çin tarçını
🇵🇰 Urduur
دارچینی کیسیا
darchini cassia
🇻🇳 Vietnamesevi
Quế Sài Gòn
Seasonality
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Peak wet-season harvestShoulder harvestAged bark, available
Pairings
Protein
- Vietnamese phở broth
- Five-spice roast pork
Sweet
- Cinnamon rolls
Drink
- Turkish coffee
Frequent questions
They're different species. Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia/loureiroi/burmannii) is bold, hot, candy-red — driven by 80–90% cinnamaldehyde and backed by 0.4–0.8% coumarin. Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum) is delicate, floral, citrusy — only 50–65% cinnamaldehyde and virtually no coumarin. If your supermarket cinnamon is dark, thick-walled, and rolled into a single tube, it's cassia. If it's paler, thinner, and made of many soft layers, it's Ceylon.