A lot of people will recommend Vietnamese cinnamon. I haven't compared to other types so I can't speak to that, but I'll say it's a dramatic difference from supermarket brands. Potent stuff! penzeys.com or spicehouse.com are two good sources.

It's not so much where it's grown as whether it's true cinnamon or cassia, which is related. Both are grown in Vietnam, and I think Sri Lanka as well. Cassia is also grown in other parts of Asia. Besides which tree it comes from, there are grades, plus oxidation levels, moisture levels, etc., all of which affect quality. Cinnamon is one of the spices that degrades quickly. True cinnamon is more fragrant but can lose some in cooking. Cassia can be tastier but less fragrant.

The curly, flaky cinnamon sticks are true cinnamon. Cassia bark is harder.

Google will do more for finding old threads than the internal search.

Cassia vs. true cinnamon

Weakness of Ceylon cinnamon

Google search

I like the Vietnamese Cinnamon from Penzey's and keep a large jar. It's stronger than the grocery store stuff, so if you don't love cinnamon, use it judiciously. If you do love it, like me, I just use the same amount or maybe a bit more.

My secretary a few years ago told me she bought her cinnamon at the Dollar Store. I brought in a jar of my Penzey's and a jar of the cheap stuff and challenged her to sniff each one. She did, promptly bought Penzey's and never looked back.

My girls now tell me I'm a "spice snob", LOL.

Annie

I like robust cinnamon flavor and my favorites are Penzey's and King Arthur's Vietnamese variety.

Ceylon cinnamon does not refer to its location; it is one of three names for "true" cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is much more expensive than non-Ceylon cinnamon, which for ease of ID I'll just call cassia going forward.

True/Ceylon cinnamon has a very different profile than cassia. It is more floral in scent, softer, milder, and much more complex.

Cassia is popular in the U.S. and Asia, and is traditionally considered "cinnamon." Vietnamese cassia has become popular as it has a stronger, spicier, sweeter profile than other non-Ceylon cinnamon/cassia types.

Europe and Mexico traditionally use Ceylon cinnamon. Cassia has become commercially popular due to its lesser cost, but it is usually labeled as "Cassia" and not "Cinnamon."

From http://cinnamonvogue.com/Types_of_Cinnamon_1.html:
" There are hundreds of types of Cinnamon. But only 4 types or varieties of Cinnamon are used for commercial purposes. These are Ceylon Cinnamon, Cassia Cinnamon, Saigon Cinnamon and Korintje Cinnamon (see below).

...All Cassia type Cinnamon are hard and have high levels of Coumarin, a substance known to cause liver damage, while Ceylon Cinnamon is the only soft and brittle Cinnamon with ultra low Coumarin levels. "

Cinnamomum Zeylanicum aka C. Verum. I can find no verification on this site that true/Ceylon cinnamon is grown in Vietnam. 90% of global supply is grown in Sri Lanka. Common names are:
Ceylon Cinnamon
True Cinnamon
Mexican Cinnamon
Coumarin level: 0.017 g/kg

Cinnamomum Burmanni. Common names are:
Indonesian Cinnamon
Korintje Cinnamon, Padang Cassia
Coumarin level: 2.15 g/kg

Cinnamomum Loureiroi. Common names are:
Saigon cinnamon
Vietnamese Cassia
Vietnamese Cinnamon
Coumarin level: 6.97 g/kg

Cinnamomum Aromaticum. Common names are:
Cassia Cinnamon
Chinese Cinnamon
Coumarin level: 0.31 g/kg

Interesting, Jkom. I'd never heard that Indonesian cassia is a different species from Vietnamese cassia.
I find true cinnamon to have a pleasant citrusy quality, and I use double the amount if replacing regular (cassia) cinnamon.

Saigon cinnamon, the one we mostly use in the U.S., also varies a lot in strength and quality. It's worth buying a better one at the grocery store. I like Spice Islands Saigon Cinnamon. It has what we think of as the basic cinnamon taste, but also some subtle and complex overtones.

If you buy one of the Mexican spice brands, you can be sure of getting true cinnamon. I believe that Badia is cinnamon and not cassia (at least according to their website) and that's pretty widely available and not expensive, either. If you live in an area where there's Publix, they usually have Badia.

Thanks for all the help with information on the types of cinnamon and to plllog for linking the Google search so I could copy the format for searching in GardenWeb using a search engine.

Anyone have feedback on online vendors beyond Penzey's and spicehouse.com for Ceylon cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum or should I stick with one of them?

Nhbabs, re the Google search, I'm too lazy to remember the "ths..." official site designation stuff. I just type in Gardenweb and the forum I want to search and it adds the site designation to my search for me. :) The next trick is unless you see the exact thread you're looking for on the top listings, always click on the "more like this".

Cinnamomum zeylanicum is also called cinnamomum verum.

I'm not sure if Spice House is similar (common origin to Penzey's), but Penzey's spices and herbs aren't as dry as "normal". I don't always care for that with the herbs, but it's a good thing for cinnamon. Cinnamon is bark, after all, and the dryer it gets, rather than just losing intensity, it gets woody tasting. That happens when it gets old, but that's also why the wetter cinnamon has more intensity. That's especially important with the verum ("true") cinnamon. Heat also damages it. It's delicate.

I've used both Spice House and Penzey's and find their spices and herbs to be equal quality (both very good).

I like the Spice House website and packaging better - Penzey's website is clunky and, if they haven't upgraded since I last used it, doesn't retain what you put in your cart for very long. I've been interrupted part way through putting in an order and then when I came back some some hours later my cart was empty and I had to start over. I buy the spices in plastic bags to keep in the freezer and refill the bottles in my spice drawer as needed - it's a minor thing, but the Spice House plastic bags seem sturdier.

I recently compared prices between the two and Spice House was cheaper for almost every item.

yes, sigh, penzey's now has a cinnamon 'mix' which is good/combo mix of their exotic fare, i have a friend that makes cinnamon rolls for groups and gave her some of the korintje to try. i created a monster.

every time i go there, i buy a new kind (except for yesterday, my wife says 'we have plenty' at home. but alas, it is the holidays, and people like to shop my spice cupboard, but that is another thread)

people always try to argue with me that there are not different kinds of cinnamon. I make them eat their words.

usually the sole cinnamon officianados are pretty good cooks themselves.

i add cinnamon to a lot of my cookie recipes, even if it doesn't call for it. just like grandma did with lemon.

dave (aka chef bragu)

I have a friend who works at the local Penzey's store, which makes it a draw. :) There was an e-mail recently touting their new website. I haven't tested it, but it must be better....

So I visited Penzey's web site today, and while it's a lot more modern than the previous archaic site, I find it annoying to navigate. At least on my iPhone; haven't tried laptop yet.

Anyway, jkom, thanks for your informative post. Now I'm curious to compare them all.

Unfortunately the local Penzey's moved from about 5 minutes away to about 25 minutes away a few years back, so I don't drop by too often anymore.

I am very happy with the Vietnamese cinnamon I buy at Costco. Great stuff.

I just took a look at the new Penzeys website on my computer and can see what you mean, FOAS.

Purple, orange and red - the colors hurt my eyes. And to get to the ordering part, you have to click the little word spices (dark purple on a light purple bar) on the bar below the big word SPICES. Once you are there, it isn't so bad. I still prefer the Spice House site.

Back to the cinnamon topic. There is one time when I strongly prefer cassia - sometimes I steep cinnamon in water either for something warm to drink without caffeine or along with tea as a variation on plain tea. Cassia imparts some sweetness along with the spice flavors and Ceylon cinnamon doesn't have the sweetness. One wouldn't notice the difference in something like cookies where there is other sugar.