Cinnamon Oil

Botanical Name: Cinnamomum Zeylanicum

Origin And Where It Grows

The cinnamon tree is a native of East India and Indonesia and grows wild in Ceylon, India, Burma, Indochina, and on several of the islands of the Indonesian archipelago. In most of these areas, the tree is cultivated to produce cinnamon bark. Climatic conditions, soil conditions, pruning or coppicing of the trees, curing (scraping) of the bark, and the age of the trees (bushes) strongly affect the quality of the cinnamon bark.

The essential oil of the bark was not distilled in its countries of origin until quite recently when distillation commenced in Ceylon, the Seychelles, India, and Indochina. The best grades of cinnamon bark oil are still produced in Europe and in the U.S.A. Distillation technique and knowledge of the botanical raw material play paramount roles in the production of really outstanding qualities of cinnamon bark oil (and many other spice oils). Many of these spices, and the above in particular, contain volatile aromatic materials which are more or less soluble in water. Native distillers in the growing regions and inexperienced European and American distillers frequently overlook this very important problem which can be solved only through the extraction of the distillation waters (cohobation is not sufficient), and by subsequent addition of the evaporated extract from the distillation waters to the water- distilled oil. Olfactory and organoleptic tests show that such “complete” oils outperform any ordinarily distilled cinnamon bark oil by far (S. Arctander).

Method Of Extraction

True “Ceylon” Cinnamon Bark Oil is steam distilled, occasionally water-distilled (see extraction techniques), from the dried inner bark of the shoots of coppiced, cultivated bushes (would-be trees) of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, preferably the variety grown in Ceylon (S. Arctander).

Odor And Flavor Profile

Cinnamon Bark Oil “Ceylon” is a pale yellow to dark yellow or brownish-yellow, somewhat oily liquid of extremely powerful, diffusive, warm-spicy, sweet, and tenacious odor. The undertone and dry-out notes reveal a persistent dryness which is very unique in combination with the distinct sweetness. Characteristic is a dry powdery-dusty, but warm, uniform, and lasting dry-out note. In the very first top notes, one may find a certain fruity freshness, similar to the sweet candy-like freshness in a good clove bud oil. The flavor is distinctly sweet and spicy, and a correctly produced oil will show a tremendous flavor power, five or ten times stronger than ordinary grade cinnamon bark oils (“commercial” quality or “pharmacopeia-grade”) (S. Arctander).

Chemistry

The main constituents of Ceylon cinnamon bark oil are cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol, aceteugenol, and trace amounts of various aldehydes. Together with methyl-n-amyl ketone, the latter is probably responsible for the power and the characteristic notes in good oils. As in clove bud oil, the content of aceteugenol in cinnamon bark oil may be dependent upon the method of distillation. Steam distillation will decompose most of the aceteugenol. Water distillation is less detrimental to the natural aromatics in the bark. Thus, an Oleoresin of Cinnamon Bark would more truly represent the natural aromatic constituents in a concentrated form (S. Arctander).

Uses

Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil is used extensively in flavors for food and candy, baked goods and beverages, pharmaceutical and dental preparations, mouth rinses, gargles, etc. where smaller amounts give pleasant bouquets to peppermint-type flavors, while larger concentrations of cinnamon bark oil exert an antiseptic effect. Tinctures and infusions of Ceylon cinnamon bark have been used for centuries as germicidal gargles etc., and the essential oil ranks among the most powerful of all known natural antiseptics (S. Arctander).

Uses in Perfumery and Flavors

In perfumery, the oil blends well with Oriental-woody notes, and the combination with olibanum is known and often utilized. The warmth and dry spiciness, the immediate sweetness, and tremendous diffusive power (or “radiation”) induced by the addition of fractions of one percent of this oil in perfume composition are highly appreciated by certain perfumers. The oil is even more interesting for flavorists since cinnamon flavor ranks among the most popular and generally applicable flavors. The oil has a magnificent masking power and is frequently used in flavors for pharmaceutical purposes where an unpleasant medicinal taste is a common problem. With the combination of sweet orange, lime oil, cola extract, and de-cocainized coca extract, the cinnamon flavor is an important part of the Coca-Cola-type flavor complex. The cinnamon note is even more pronounced in the Pepsi-Cola type (S. Arctander).

Adulteration

Since the main constituents of cinnamon bark oil are very common low-cost materials that are partly available as synthetic chemicals (partly isolated from inexpensive essential oils), it is not surprising that Cinnamon Bark Oil (Ceylon) is very frequently adulterated or “cut”. Knowledge of the market price of cinnamon bark will enable the buyer of cinnamon bark oil to calculate roughly the cost of the essential oil: 120 to 150 times the price of the choice bark material (not necessarily the best-looking material). Add to this a reasonable overhead for distillation, etc., and you can be sure that any oil which is offered significantly below this cost is adulterated or “cut”. A high price is, of course, no indication that you have genuine oil. Olfactory and organoleptic tests will usually reveal the actual value of the oil. Cinnamon leaf oil, canella bark oil, clove leaf oil, eugenol, cinnamic aldehyde, etc. are the most common additives (S. Arctander).

Production

True Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil is produced on a limited scale only. The production is steadily increasing and is estimated at a figure of between five and ten metric tons annually. By far, the majority is European distilled. The oil produced in the Seychelle islands from the Ceylon type of cinnamon bark is somewhat different from the “true” Ceylon cinnamon bark oil. The odor of the Seychelles oil is harsher, probably due to camphene and other terpenes, and to camphor which has not yet been identified in the bark oil from cultivated Ceylon cinnamon bark. In Seychelles, wild trees are used since the cinnamon tree grows all over the islands’ 100 square kilometers, thanks to the talking mynah bird (the East Indian Acridotheres tristis) who has chosen the cinnamon fruits as its favorite dish. The islanders benefit from this activity in their “Garden of Eden”, as Seychelles are generally named. It is, furthermore, the only area in the world where white people and their descendants, down through the centuries, have lived and valued around all day without any sort of footwear. Indeed an interesting place! As mentioned above, the label “cinnamon oil” or “cinnamon oil Ceylon” or “cinnamon bark oil”, often encountered in price lists and market reports, does not specify the quality of the oil; it is not surprising then to see Cinnamon Oil offered at prices of from $16.— per kilo up to more than $200.— per kilo. Occasionally, even artificial cassia leaf oil is offered under the Cinnamon Oil label, with the addition of some Pharmacopoeias’ names. “Ultrasonic” extracts of cinnamon bark (Ceylon) are known and used in flavors (S. Arctander).

Sources and Information

• Fulvio Ciccolo, 2021, Scentspiracy

• Scentspiracy research team

• Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, S. Arctander (1961)