By Stabilicinn
Short answer: Ceylon cinnamon is grown on family farms in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province. Trees are coppiced (cut back) so they sprout many shoots, which are harvested, scraped and hand-peeled by skilled cinnamon peelers. The thin inner bark is rolled by hand into long quills, dried and graded. The trees regrow for repeated harvests.
Where it grows
True cinnamon grows in Sri Lanka, Madagascar and the Seychelles, but Sri Lanka produces the large majority of the world’s supply. Pure Ceylon cinnamon thrives in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province, where cinnamon is the main livelihood of many households. Stabilicinn buys only from these sustainable family businesses, and only cinnamon certified by Sri Lanka’s government as pure Ceylon cinnamon.
Step 1: Coppicing, a sustainable farm base
About two years after planting, cinnamon trees are coppiced: cut back close to the ground. This prompts dozens of new shoots to grow, which are harvested the following year. During harvest, the branches are cut and the trees are cut back again. Because the roots stay in place, the trees regrow, allowing for multiple harvests over many years.
Step 2: Scraping and peeling
Harvested branches are scraped and the outer bark is discarded. The peeler then evenly beats the branch with a brass rod or hammer to loosen the inner bark, and carefully removes it in thin sheets, up to about half a millimeter thick. Cinnamon peeling is hard work and an art passed down from generation to generation.
Step 3: Hand-rolling into quills
Without delay, while the bark is still moist, peelers overlap the sheets and roll them into quills, packing smaller pieces (quillings) inside. Each Ceylon cinnamon stick is handcrafted and hand rolled, and quills are rolled to about 42 inches long. Inner bark from twisted shoots and twigs, called featherings, is collected separately.
Step 4: Drying and grading
Quills are dried slowly in the shade with good ventilation before being released to market. Well-made Ceylon quills are thin and smooth, light yellowish-brown, and highly fragrant. They are graded by thickness and quality, and Sri Lanka has its own grading system for them.
Why it matters
This labor-intensive, hand-crafted process, together with Ceylon cinnamon’s small share of world production, is why true cinnamon costs more than Cassia. It’s also why we care where ours comes from: certified sourcing means the cinnamon in every bottle of Stabilicinn is the real thing.
Related: Glossary: quill, quillings, featherings · Ceylon vs. Cassia