Cinnamon is one of the ancient spices in the world. Ceylon Cinnamon, “Cinnamomum zeylanicum” native to Sri Lanka belong to the Lauranceae family. Presently there are two types of cinnamon in the world. They are Cinnamon verum and cinnamon cassia. Sri Lanka is the mother land for cinnamon verum and that is the true cinnamon in the world. Because of that, the word Sri Lanka and Cinnamon is connected together. In the past Sri Lanka was known by many names (about 68). Why so many names? It was simply because we were famous among the global merchants. Cinnamon was considered as a precious spice in west, in the early centuries. Though Portuguese discovered the true Cinnamon of Ceylon in the early 16th century, before 15th century Arabic merchants done the trade with Ceylon. Demand for Cinnamon begun to increase & led Dutch to fight with Portuguese, finally Ceylon’s Cinnamon trade was invaded. However, Dutch gained the control of cinnamon monopoly in the mid, 17th century & later it went to the British’s hands. Once a Dutch merchant told “we are dancing around one bride and that bride is Ceylon cinnamon”. Because of this great spice, Sri Lanka become a colony for three nations.
This is not a huge tree, but produces are huge. Cinnamon is not only a single spice but also has wide range of products. Cinnamon bark, cinnamon oil, cinnamon quills, cinnamon powder, ground cinnamon are few of them. It was primarily used for preserving meat & retard the growth of bacteria. It also plays an important role in cosmetic & pharmaceutical industry. Also, it has an ability of controlling cholesterol, killing cancer cells and many more. Cinnamon tea & cinnamon cake is very famous all over the world. The tropical sunshine, rain is needed to grow of cinnamon well & the quality of the spice depends on the soil condition. Most of the cinnamon produces in the coastal belt, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota & Rathnapura districts. Processing or peeling cinnamon is an art. There is no machinery use for this processing. However certain tools are used for this work. Sri Lanka is rewarded as the major cinnamon producer to the global markets & supplied 90% of true cinnamon demand of the world. During your tour of Sri Lanka, you can visit a cinnamon estate and get the knowledge about this valuable spice and its industry. This cinnamon tour would become a memorable one in your lifetime.