Cinnamon bark EO Organic
Origin: Madagascar

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  The cinnamon tree is a tropical tree 10 to 15 meters high. It can reach a height of 20 meters, but is usually kept in a bushy state to facilitate exploitation. It is found in altitudes up to 500 meters in sunny exposures in Southwest India and particularly in Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) as well as in other regions of Southeast Asia. It likes alluvial soil and is cultivated in plantations where it is cut back to 3 meters to aid harvesting.    It has aromatic leaves that are oval, tough, and glossy dark-green when mature, while young leaves have a pinkish coloring. The cinnamon tree’s numerous pale-yellow flowers on panicles have an unpleasant odor. The fruit of the tree is a berry. The tree’s light, thick bark has the smell and flavor of cinnamon. It is the bark that is used for the spice.   One essential oil is produced from the shavings of the bark and another very different essential oil is produced from the leaves. There are two varieties of cinnamon used in perfumery, Cinnamomum cassia Nees ex Blume and Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blum. The latter is the most valued and is sometimes called true cinnamon.

  History:

  The French word for cinnamon "cannelle" refers to the tubes formed by the bark as it curls like “canes” when drying in the sun. It is an old word derived from Latin that means tubes or pipes. The English word "cinnamon" derives from the Greek κιννάμωμον or kinnámōmon (later kínnamon). The name cinnamon comes from the Indonesian kayu manis , meaning sweet wood. Myths: In the 5th century BC., Herodotus reports that Arab merchants went in search of cinnamon to what they described as faraway savage countries on the banks of a lake defended by strange winged beasts, who built their nests with cinnamon sticks. To get it, the merchants had to protect their bodies with skins—"except for the eyes," according to Herodotus—and set out large chunks of beef near the nests, taking advantage of the gluttony of the birds to seize this delicious cinnamon! Hard to say whether this is imagination or a trick by these merchants to protect a trade secret. Cultural significance:             In China, the goddess of cinnamon is said to have fallen in love with a young philosopher and she used all her charms to seduce him. Thus, the aphrodisiac reputation of the plant, which was in other places consecrated to Venus. The Romans wove crowns of cinnamon leaves to decorate the temples of the Earthly Venus. It has stimulated the imagination throughout time: many legends recount that it is a powerful, exotic plant endowed with magical powers. It is also used in cooking, (Mauritians, Indians, Americans, ...). It is mentioned several times in the Bible under the name Kinamom. History: Cinnamon is the most ancient of all spices. It was used in China two thousand years before Christ and it fragrance has permeated the Mediterranean region for 500 years. Its cultivation began in Ceylon, but it was also used by the Egyptians, who had it brought from India to embalm their dead. Cinnamon was also known for its medicinal properties. Cultivation of cinnamon goes back to 1275 in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). Cinnamon is made up of pieces of the inner layer of bark detached from the tree after the rainy season. Cut and then dried in the sun, the small golden tubes or sticks are placed one inside the other. In Sri Lanka, work harvesting cinnamon is traditionally reserved to the Salagama caste. The ancients considered it the most prized of spices. It was the royal gift offered with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Ships loaded with the precious bark crossed the Indian Ocean, coming from China or Ceylon to the Persian Gulf. There it was carried by merchants on the backs of camels to Sidon and Tyre on the banks of the Mediterranean, where it continued its journey to the Greek and Roman Empires. When cinnamon arrived in France in the Middle Ages, it was considered as much a powerful medicinal and almost magical plant as it was a spice. During the Renaissance, it was said to protect against the plague. Later, the Frenchman Pierre Poivre broke the monopoly stealing plants from Ceylon and replanting them in the Seychelles where cinnamon has now become the major crop. In 1796, the British annexed Ceylon and imposed a monopoly via the famous “India Campaign” until 1833. Cinnamon is a delicate spice used for exotic dishes and meats (pastilla). It is also used in Europe for sweets and drinks such as teas and hypocras (spiced wine with cinnamon). It can also be lighted and used as incense.

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