The benefits of cinnamon and how we source it

What is cinnamon?

Cinnamon is a sweet yet savoury herb obtained from powdered tree bark, this herb has been used for centuries to flavour food and treat ailments.

Probably best known for its use in sweet treats and pastries, cinnamon is an evergreen tree with a highly aromatic bark. 

We use Cinnamon from Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka - all of which is grown in organically certified mixed-forest systems.

The bark is sustainably harvested using a coppicing method creating the most delicious smelling ‘rolls’ of fresh cinnamon bark.

What are the benefits of cinnamon?

Full of sweet and stimulating essential oils, cinnamon is a long-time favourite for invigorating, warming and generally making life more delicious.

How we grow, source and harvest cinnamon

The cinnamon we use in blends such as our Three Cinnamon tea is the ‘cassia’ variety, which comes from several different Cinnamomum species in South East Asia; C. aromaticum, C. burmanni, C. bejolghota coming from Vietnam, Indonesia and India.

These varieties contain the highest levels of the delicious and therapeutic essential oils.

Cinnamon is often grown in semi-wild ‘forest gardens’. To the untrained eye it is hard to distinguish a tropical forest garden from a forest, but they are in fact carefully designed and highly efficient ‘agro-ecosystems’ that can contain an incredible diversity of multi-purpose herbs, shrubs and trees.

Fairly traded and Rainforest Alliance

Our Vietnamese cinnamon comes from a certified fair trade project in the hills of north Vietnam. The agreement ensures that the cinnamon farmers are paid a premium price and an additional sum is donated to the farmers’ cooperative to support social projects, which has helped the local community build a kindergarten and a bridge in the village.

Further south our Indonesian cinnamon comes from a project that is Rainforest Alliance certified; this means that the producers must adhere to the rigorous standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), which provides assurance that farmers, farm workers, wildlife and the rainforest benefit equally from the trade of cinnamon.