Reading a cinnamon quill

A quill of true cinnamon is not a single piece of bark. It is five or six paper-thin layers, peeled from the shoots of a young tree and rolled inward by hand until they hold together. Hold one to the light and you can count them.

Cassia, which fills most supermarket jars, is a single thick slab of bark. It is harder, redder, and far more resinous. It smells sweet in a blunt way, while Ceylon cinnamon has a fine, almost floral lift to it.

The difference matters in the cup. Cinnamon brewed from the thin quills is gentle enough to drink every day; cassia, taken in quantity, carries far more coumarin and is best kept to cooking.

We keep our quills long and loosely rolled so you can see the layers yourself. Break one open and the scent released from the inner surface is the clearest proof you will ever get.