The Secret Life of a Legendary Ingredient
In the world of spices, few carry the mystique and legacy of true cinnamon. Native to Sri Lanka, Cinnamomum verum—often called “Ceylon cinnamon”—has flavored food, perfumed homes, and driven empires for centuries. Its history is a rich tapestry woven with natural abundance, human ingenuity, and the darker threads of colonial ambition and exploitation.
Today, Sri Lanka remains the world’s premier source of Ceylon cinnamon, but understanding how this came to be requires a journey through ancient trade networks, colonial conquests, and the resilience of a people determined to protect their land’s treasures.
Ancient Roots: The Spice that Captivated the World
Long before the age of European empires, cinnamon from Sri Lanka was a prized commodity across Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Ancient Egyptians used cinnamon in embalming rituals. Roman aristocrats paid exorbitant prices to season their banquets with it. In ancient texts, cinnamon is often shrouded in mystery—described as coming from distant, exotic lands populated by strange creatures, a testament to how fiercely its true origins were guarded.
Sri Lankan traders, along with Arab merchants, carefully cultivated myths about the spice's source to maintain their lucrative monopoly. Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BCE, even recorded outlandish tales of giant cinnamon birds that collected the bark to build their nests—a story likely spread by traders to deter others from seeking out the real source.
In reality, cinnamon was harvested from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka’s coastal regions, particularly around Colombo, Galle, and Matara. The process was labor-intensive: skilled peelers would carefully strip the bark during the rainy season when it was most pliable, then dry and curl it into the familiar quills still prized today.
The Colonial Scramble for Cinnamon
By the 16th century, the European thirst for exotic spices had reached a fever pitch. Cinnamon, once a rare luxury, became a cornerstone of global trade—and a powerful driver of colonization.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to set their sights on Sri Lanka’s cinnamon. Landing in 1505, they quickly recognized the island's unparalleled bounty. They seized control of the coastal cinnamon trade, establishing a brutal monopoly. Indigenous communities, particularly the Sinhalese, were forced into labor to harvest and process cinnamon under harsh conditions. Resistance was often met with violence.
The Portuguese monopoly, however, was short-lived. In the mid-17th century, the Dutch East India Company wrested control of Sri Lanka's spice trade. Under the Dutch, cinnamon cultivation became even more systematic and exploitative. The Dutch expanded plantations, enforced quotas, and tightly regulated trade to ensure that cinnamon from Sri Lanka dominated European markets.
Historical records show that the Dutch employed severe tactics to maintain their control, including scorched-earth campaigns against villages that resisted their authority. Cinnamon, once a symbol of luxury and life, became entangled with suffering and subjugation.
The British took over in 1796, folding Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) into their sprawling empire. Although cinnamon's global dominance had begun to wane—due in part to the rise of cheaper cassia cinnamon from Southeast Asia—the British continued to profit from its trade. They further expanded plantation agriculture on the island, focusing also on tea, rubber, and coffee, reshaping Sri Lanka’s landscapes and economies.
Cinnamon and Cultural Identity
Despite centuries of foreign control, cinnamon remained deeply embedded in the cultural and daily life of Sri Lankans. Traditional knowledge about cultivating and processing cinnamon endured, passed down through generations of skilled laborers, having lasting social impacts that continue to be studied today.
Even now, cinnamon is more than an export product in Sri Lanka—it plays a role in religious ceremonies, Ayurvedic medicine, and everyday cooking. Its fragrance is familiar in Sri Lankan homes, a comforting reminder of resilience amid historical upheaval.
Sri Lankan cinnamon is distinguished not just by its flavor—delicately sweet, citrusy, and nuanced—but by the centuries of tradition that inform every stage of its production. Skilled peelers still work largely by hand, an artisanal method that produces the delicate, paper-thin quills unique to Ceylon cinnamon.
The Legacy and the Future
Today, Sri Lanka produces about 80–90% of the world's Ceylon cinnamon. The spice remains a source of national pride and a vital economic contributor, especially for rural communities in the southern coastal belt.
Global demand for "true cinnamon" has seen a resurgence, especially among consumers seeking authentic, traceable food products. Ceylon cinnamon is often marketed as the "real" cinnamon, differentiated from cassia (which is thicker, more pungent, and cheaper) by its subtler taste and lower coumarin content—a health consideration for many.
Sri Lanka’s cinnamon industry faces modern challenges: competition from other countries, threats from climate change, and the need to protect traditional cultivation techniques against industrialization. Yet there's a renewed focus on sustainable practices, geographic indication (GI) certification, and quality branding to ensure that Ceylon cinnamon retains its global reputation.
In a way, cinnamon's story in Sri Lanka mirrors the story of the island itself—a land rich in natural gifts, tested by centuries of exploitation, but enduring with a spirit that refuses to be erased.
