Cinnamon - Cultivation

Cultivation

Global annual production of cinnamon and cassia comes to 27,500-35,000 tons. Cinnamom verum accounts for 7,500-10,000 tons of production with the remainder produced by other species. In Sri Lanka, only Cinnamomum verum is cultivated. Sri Lanka still produces 80-90% of the world's supply of Cinnamomum verum, and this species is also cultivated on a commercial scale in Seychelles and Madagascar. Global production of the other species comes to 20,000-25,000 tons, of which Indonesia produces around two-thirds of the total, with significant production in China. India and Vietnam are also minor producers.

Cinnamon is harvested by growing the tree for two years then coppicing it. The next year, about a dozen shoots will form from the roots.

The branches harvested this way are processed by scraping off the outer bark, then beating the branch evenly with a hammer to loosen the inner bark. The inner bark is then prised out in long rolls. Only the thin (0.5 mm (0.020 in)) inner bark is used; the outer, woody portion is discarded, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying. Once dry, the bark is cut into 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) lengths for sale.

The bark must be processed immediately after harvesting while still wet. Once processed, the bark will dry completely in four to six hours, provided that it is in a well-ventilated and relatively warm environment. A less than ideal drying environment encourages the proliferation of pests in the bark, which may then require treatment by fumigation. Bark treated this way is not considered to be of the same premium quality as untreated bark.

Sri Lanka cinnamon has a very thin, smooth bark with a light-yellowish brown colour and a highly fragrant aroma. In recent years in Sri Lanka, mechanical devices have been developed to ensure premium quality and worker safety and health, following considerable research by the Universities in that country led by the University of Ruhuna.

The Sri Lankan grading system divides the cinnamon quills into four groups:

• Alba, less than 6 mm (0.24 in) in diameter
• Continental, less than 16 mm (0.63 in) in diameter
• Mexican, less than 19 mm (0.75 in) in diameter
• Hamburg, less than 32 mm (1.3 in) in diameter

These groups are further divided into specific grades. For example, Mexican is divided into M00 000 special, M000000, and M0000, depending on quill diameter and number of quills per kg.

Any pieces of bark less than 106 mm (4.2 in) long are categorized as quillings. Featherings are the inner bark of twigs and twisted shoots. Chips are trimmings of quills, outer and inner bark that cannot be separated, or the bark of small twigs.