Cinnamon Seeds

Cinnamon is said to be a medium to light reddish brown which is hard and has woody texture and is thicker because all the layers of the bark are used. Ceylon cinnamon has only thin inner bark and is lighter brown color, is finer and less dense and has more crumbly texture. It is considered to be subtler and has more aromatic flavor than cassia but looses much of its flavor during cooking. Cassia is said to be a strong, spicy flavor which is associated with the cinnamon rolls and also other baked goods. The levels of blood-thinning agent called coumarin is said to be lower in Celyon Cinnamon than cassia.
The "True Cinnamon" or Sri Lankan Cinnamon is the dried inner stem bark of Cinnamomum Verum. Cinnamon plants are grown as bushes. When the plants are of two years age, they typically measure at about 2 meter in high and 8-12 cm at the base. It is at this stage they are ready for harvesting.

The commercial products of cinnamon are quills, quillings, featherings, chips, cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon leaf oil. 'Quills' are scraped peel of the inner bark of the mature cinnamon shoots, joined together with overlapping tubes, the hollow of which has been filled with smaller pieces of cinnamon peels which is dried first in the sun and thereafter in the shade. 'Quillings' are broken pieces and splits of all grades of cinnamon quills. 'Featherings' are feather like pieces of inner bark consisting of shavings and small pieces of bark left over. Cinnamon 'chips' are rough unpeelable barks scraped off from the thicker stems. Cinnamon leaf and bark oil are obtained by distilling the leaf and bark separately. Cinnamon bark is a popular spice with a delicate fragrance and a warm agreeable taste. It is used in the form of small pieces or powder. It is widely used in flavouring confectionary, liquors, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It is found to help diabetics in digestion of sugar. It has astringent; stimulant and carminative properties and can check nausea and vomiting. The cinnamon bark oil has anti-fungal properties and cinnamon leaf oil is widely used in perfumery and cosmetics.