What is the difference between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon?

Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is lighter, more brittle, sweeter and low in coumarins, native to Sri Lanka, and is the one used in Mexico. Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) is darker, harder, spicier and high in coumarins, potentially hepatotoxic in excess, native to China and Indonesia, and predominates in the United States due to its lower price.

What does Mexican cinnamon taste like?

Mexican Ceylon cinnamon has a sweet, warm and delicate flavour, with notes of clove, vanilla and subtle citrus, without the aggressive bite of cassia. It is ideal for infusions, atoles and milk sweets because it provides aroma without bitterness. Its aromatic profile complements cacao, vanilla, anise and piloncillo in traditional Mexican preparations.

What is cinnamon used for in Mexican cuisine?

It is used to flavour mole poblano and Oaxacan mole, atole, champurrado, café de olla, capirotada, rice pudding, rompope, jericallas, flans and traditional breads such as conchas, doughnuts, rosca de Reyes and pan de muerto. It is also mixed with sugar to sprinkle over churros, buñuelos and cinnamon polvorones, and to perfume pumpkin or sweet potato sweets.

Where does the cinnamon used in Mexico come from?

It is native to Sri Lanka (ancient Ceylon), from where it arrived in New Spain through the Manila Galleon between the 16th and 19th centuries. Currently, Mexico imports Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the Comoros and Indonesia, always preferring the verum variety for its superior flavour and lower coumarin content, considered the authentic one for traditional moles.

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Cinnamon in Mexican cuisine: uses and varieties

What is it?

Mexican cinnamon, almost always the Ceylon variety (Cinnamomum verum), arrived in New Spain through the Manila Galleon in the 16th century, connecting Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) with Acapulco via the Philippines. Unlike Chinese cassia predominant in the United States, Ceylon cinnamon is more brittle, lighter, sweeter and more aromatic, with lower levels of coumarins, which makes it safer for everyday consumption. Today it is an essential ingredient of Mexican cuisine: it flavours mole poblano, Oaxacan mole, atoles, champurrado, rice pudding, milk sweets, café de olla, pan de muerto, capirotada and rompope. Mexico is one of the world's largest per capita consumers of Ceylon cinnamon. Although it is not grown in Mexican territory due to very specific tropical climate requirements, its constant use has made it an identity component of national cuisine.

Origin and history

Cinnamon was domesticated on the island of Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) more than 4,000 years ago, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Mentioned in Egyptian papyri and in the Bible, it was a luxury good of the spice trade between East and West. The Nao de China galleon, also known as the Manila Galleon, brought Ceylon cinnamon to Acapulco between 1565 and 1815, traded from the Philippine archipelago. Cinnamon was distributed throughout New Spain via the Camino de Asia, reaching Puebla, Veracruz, Mexico and Oaxaca. Sahagún mentions it in colonial recipe books as a novel spice in the 17th-century convent cuisine, where it was integrated into mole poblano. The Digital Library of Traditional Mexican Medicine of UNAM documents its medicinal use: as a digestive, antiparasitic and for regulating blood sugar. The gob.mx portal recognises Mexico as the world's leading importer of Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, with per capita consumption higher than any other region outside Asia.

Characteristic ingredients

Cinnamomum verum is the inner bark of the cinnamon tree, dried in thin rolled rolls known as quills. Ceylon cinnamon has light tones, thin layers and crumbles easily; cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum, Cinnamomum burmanii) is darker, thicker, harder and spicier. Traditional Mexican cinnamon is always Ceylon, identifiable by its sweet, soft aroma. It is sold in quills, ground or in pastes (Ki cinnamon powder). Its main content is cinnamaldehyde (60-75%), responsible for the characteristic aroma, in addition to eugenol and linalool. In Mexican cuisine it is used to: flavour the milk of atoles and champurrado, infuse it into café de olla, integrate it into mole poblano and Oaxacan mole, sprinkle it over rice pudding and churros, perfume breads (concha, doughnut, rosca de Reyes) and give character to desserts such as capirotada, jericalla, flan and sweet rice. Studies by INNSZ and UNAM support its moderate antihyperglycaemic effect, useful in diets for type 2 diabetes.

Cultural significance

Cinnamon is an essential element of Traditional Mexican Cuisine inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010, present in the moles and sweets declared emblematic of the country. It forms part of the Manila Galleon Route, which UNESCO is studying as a candidate transpacific cultural route for World Heritage. The Mexican Mole Confraternity holds National Mole Day every year, with contests using Ceylon cinnamon as a differentiating ingredient. The Mexican preference for Ceylon over cassia, due to its delicate flavour and lower coumarin toxicity, is defended by PROFECO, which regularly warns about adulterations. Economically, cinnamon represents one of the main products imported from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, with growing consumption in pâtisserie, traditional sweets and drinks. Mexican restaurants such as Pujol, Quintonil and Sud 777 work with selected Ceylon cinnamon to preserve the authenticity of regional moles.

Related recipes

Now that you know what it is, try cooking it at home with our step-by-step recipes:

Ingredients to cook it

Find where to buy authentic ingredients in Mexican shops in the US:

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon?: Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is lighter, more brittle, sweeter and low in coumarins, native to Sri Lanka, and is the one used in Mexico. Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) is darker, harder, spicier and high in coumarins, potentially hepatotoxic in excess, native to China and Indonesia, and predominates in the United States due to its lower price.
What does Mexican cinnamon taste like?: Mexican Ceylon cinnamon has a sweet, warm and delicate flavour, with notes of clove, vanilla and subtle citrus, without the aggressive bite of cassia. It is ideal for infusions, atoles and milk sweets because it provides aroma without bitterness. Its aromatic profile complements cacao, vanilla, anise and piloncillo in traditional Mexican preparations.
What is cinnamon used for in Mexican cuisine?: It is used to flavour mole poblano and Oaxacan mole, atole, champurrado, café de olla, capirotada, rice pudding, rompope, jericallas, flans and traditional breads such as conchas, doughnuts, rosca de Reyes and pan de muerto. It is also mixed with sugar to sprinkle over churros, buñuelos and cinnamon polvorones, and to perfume pumpkin or sweet potato sweets.
Where does the cinnamon used in Mexico come from?: It is native to Sri Lanka (ancient Ceylon), from where it arrived in New Spain through the Manila Galleon between the 16th and 19th centuries. Currently, Mexico imports Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the Comoros and Indonesia, always preferring the verum variety for its superior flavour and lower coumarin content, considered the authentic one for traditional moles.