Cinnamon

History

Cinnamon is one of the oldest commercial spices on record. Egyptian embalming recipes already listed it around 2500 BCE, and the Hebrew Bible quotes it in the sacred anointing oil of Exodus. Phoenician traders carried the bark from Ceylon and southern China across the Mediterranean, where it stood, for centuries, among the most expensive goods on the spice route (Britannica, Cinnamon; Wikipedia, Cinnamon, accessed 26 May 2026).

Medieval Arab traders kept the geographic origin of cinnamon secret for centuries to preserve their monopoly between South Asia and Venice. The Portuguese landing in Ceylon in 1505 broke the secret, before the Dutch took control of the island and the cinnamon plantations through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Britannica; FAO World Spices Report, accessed 26 May 2026).

In Western perfumery, cinnamon entered modern composition through the early twentieth-century orientals. Jacques Guerlain placed it inside the spicy heart of Shalimar (1925). The note then became a signature of the late twentieth-century oriental spicy family, central to Opium (Yves Saint Laurent, 1977) by Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac, and to Habit Rouge (Guerlain, 1965) by Jean-Paul Guerlain (Fragrantica; Now Smell This; Bois de Jasmin, accessed 26 May 2026).

The early 2000s reformulation cycle, driven by the IFRA Standards on cinnamaldehyde and on coumarin-rich cassia, forced major rewriting of these orientals. Cinnamon remains a pillar of contemporary niche perfumery, in compositions such as Coromandel (Chanel Les Exclusifs, 2007), Ambre Russe (Parfum d'Empire, 2003), and Arabic perfumery references including Khamrah (Lattafa, 2022).

Botanical and geographic origin

Cinnamon in perfumery designates the essential oil or absolute extracted from the dried inner bark of two main species of the genus Cinnamomum, family Lauraceae. The two species share a common warm-spicy character but differ substantially in chemistry, regulation, price and olfactive grade (Britannica, Cinnamon; Wikipedia, Cinnamon, accessed 26 May 2026).

Cinnamomum verum (also Cinnamomum zeylanicum), commonly called Ceylon cinnamon or true cinnamon, is cultivated almost exclusively in Sri Lanka, which produces an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the world's Ceylon supply, with smaller plantations in the Seychelles and Madagascar. The bark is thin, brittle, multi-layered when rolled and reads finer and more floral in olfactive evaluation. Ceylon is the reference grade for high perfumery (FAO World Spices Report; Wikipedia, accessed 26 May 2026).

Cinnamomum cassia (Chinese cassia) is cultivated at industrial scale in China (Guangxi and Guangdong), Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar. Vietnam has become a major exporter since the late 2010s. The bark is thicker, single-layered, more rigid when rolled, and reads more powerful, sharper and more camphor-driven. Cassia is the workhorse grade of the global flavor and fragrance market because of its lower cost and higher cinnamaldehyde content (FAO; Wikipedia, Cinnamomum cassia, accessed 26 May 2026).

The pivot molecule behind the cinnamon signature is cinnamaldehyde (trans-cinnamaldehyde, CAS 14371-10-9), which accounts for roughly 50 to 70 percent of Ceylon bark oil and 60 to 90 percent of cassia bark oil. Cassia also carries notable coumarin, regulated separately under EU rules. Other significant constituents include eugenol, cinnamyl acetate, cinnamyl alcohol and benzaldehyde (Perfumer & Flavorist; Wikipedia: Cinnamaldehyde, accessed 26 May 2026).

Production and extraction

Cinnamon production starts in the plantation. Trees of Cinnamomum verum are coppiced into short stumps that send up multiple thin shoots over two to three years. Harvesters strip the bark with a curved knife, peel off the rough outer layer, and let the soft inner bark dry. As it dries, the inner bark curls into the characteristic quills of the spice trade, with two main harvests a year (FAO World Spices Report; Wikipedia, accessed 26 May 2026).

For perfumery use, two extraction routes dominate:

• Steam distillation of the dried inner bark yields the cinnamon bark essential oil. Reported yields are roughly 0.5 to 1 percent for Ceylon bark and 1.5 to 4 percent for cassia (Perfumer & Flavorist; Wikipedia).
• Solvent extraction produces a darker cinnamon absolute, denser and more rounded than the essential oil, preferred for some accord-building work.

A separate product, the cinnamon leaf oil, is steam-distilled from the leaves of Cinnamomum verum. It is dominated by eugenol (70 to 85 percent) rather than cinnamaldehyde, reads more clove-spicy and woody, and is significantly less photosensitising than bark oil. Sri Lanka produces an estimated 80 percent of the world's Ceylon cinnamon leaf oil (Wikipedia; FAO). Niche perfumers often combine both grades: bark oil at 0.1 to 0.3 percent for spice power, leaf oil at 0.5 to 2 percent for volume and depth. Wholesale bark oil prices in 2025-2026 sit around 200 to 300 euros per kilogram for Ceylon and 100 to 200 euros for cassia (trade press; supplier catalogues).

IFRA restrictions on cinnamaldehyde have tightened substantially since 2008. The current IFRA Standard, classified as a skin sensitiser and EU declared allergen, caps the molecule at very low levels in leave-on skin products, typically 0.05 to 0.5 percent of the finished formula depending on category. Cassia oil is also restricted because of its coumarin content (IFRA Standards; EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex III, accessed 26 May 2026).

Industrial captives now extend perfumers' options around the restrictions. Synthetic cinnamaldehyde (CAS 14371-10-9) is available at high purity for controlled dosing, and methyl cinnamate and related esters carry the spicy facet without the same allergen load. These molecules do not fully reproduce natural cinnamon, but they cover the bulk of commercial formulation since the 2008 reformulation cycle.

Olfactive profile

Cinnamon reads, blind, as warm, spicy, sweet and slightly woody. It unfolds in three phases on a smelling strip: a hot, piquant, almost burning opening; a balsamic, sweet heart recalling baked apple and gingerbread; and a woody drydown with traces of clove from the eugenol fraction (Fragrantica; Now Smell This; Bois de Jasmin, accessed 26 May 2026).

The two grades behave differently in formula. Ceylon cinnamon reads finer, more floral, more subtle, with a softer cinnamaldehyde curve. It suits floral-spicy and oriental ambery compositions where elegance is non-negotiable. Cassia reads sharper, more powerful, more camphor-driven, sometimes faintly medicinal. It is the workhorse of gourmand and Arabic perfumery (Britannica; Fragrantica).

Cinnamon belongs to the kitchens of winter as much as to the orientals of the twentieth century. Pin it down, and you find the same bark behind the gingerbread and behind Shalimar.

Key characteristics

Notable perfumes featuring cinnamon

Six compositions recur in the EN specialised press as benchmarks for cinnamon in perfumery. The selection runs from Shalimar (Guerlain, 1925) to recent Arabic perfumery references, and covers the spice in three configurations: spicy heart of the classical oriental, modern niche woody-spicy and contemporary gourmand.

Frequently asked questions

See also