Cassia vs. Ceylon: the story behind our cinnamon sticks
There are two spices sold as cinnamon. Ceylon is delicate and crumbly; cassia is bold, sweet-hot, and built for a pot that simmers. For whole sticks, cassia is the honest choice.
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- Origin
- Thick-cut cassia bark
- Tasting notes
- Deep, sweet-hot perfume that holds up to a long simmer
- Use with
- Chai, mulled cider, arroz con leche, biryani, braises
- Heat
- None
- Formats
- 2.5 oz Jar
Why cassia for sticks
Cassia bark is thick, oily, and slow to give up its flavor, which is exactly what you want from a stick that will spend forty minutes in chai, mulled cider, or a braise. Ceylon has its place in fine pastry, but as a whole stick it collapses and fades. Our cassia is thick-cut, with the deep perfume that reads unmistakably as cinnamon the moment the jar opens.
One stick, used twice
Drop a stick into arroz con leche, biryani, pho broth, or braised short ribs, and pull it before serving. Rinsed and dried, a cassia stick has a second infusion in it. Ground cinnamon cannot do that; the stick is the format that keeps the volatile oils sealed until you want them.
Common questions
Can I grind these?+
Yes, but cassia is hard; use a spice grinder in short pulses, not a mortar. For baking where texture matters, freshly ground stick beats pre-ground by a wide margin.
Is cassia safe to use daily?+
In normal culinary amounts, yes. Cassia contains more coumarin than Ceylon, which only matters at supplement-level doses, not a stick in the teapot.