Cinnamon: cassia, Ceylon, and coumarin

Ceylon and cassia are different species with very different coumarin levels. What separates them, why the EU regulates coumarin, and how much ends up in a daily cup.

By PGP Iyer · May 28, 2026 · 1 min read

Cinnamon is the inner bark of Cinnamomum trees and one of the oldest trade spices. The most practically useful thing to know about it is not a health question at all — it is that “cinnamon” refers to two different species with very different chemistry.

Cassia vs Ceylon

Most supermarket cinnamon is cassia (Cinnamomum cassia, also called C. aromaticum). Ceylon, or “true” cinnamon, is Cinnamomum verum — milder, more floral, and far lower in coumarin. Both owe their warming flavour largely to cinnamaldehyde, with related compounds such as cinnamic acid.

Why coumarin is regulated

Coumarin occurs naturally in cassia at much higher levels than in Ceylon, and European food-safety authorities set a tolerable daily intake for it. This is a compositional and regulatory matter rather than a claim about either spice — see our guide on how the EU treats coumarin and how the US differs.

In a daily cup

Tea amounts of cinnamon are flavourful and generally well within coumarin limits for adults. If you drink heavily spiced cassia products every single day, Ceylon is the lower-coumarin option — that is a composition decision, not a health one.

Choosing between them

Cassia is bolder, hotter and the more common supermarket type; Ceylon is milder, more layered and better suited to delicate preparations. For chai, cassia’s bite stands up to milk and long simmering, which is why it dominates the category.