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Cassia

Q: Is Cassia natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Steam distillation of the bark of Cinnamomum cassia produces a dark reddish-brown essential oil. The oil contains 70-90% cinnamaldehyde, with significant coumarin content. Cassia leaf oil is also produced and has a similar but slightly less clean profile. Major production in Chin a (Guangxi, Guangdong provinces) and Vietnam. Yields are approximately 1-2% from dried bark..

SPICES / spicy · warm · sweet

Cassia

Category	SPICES
Subcategory	spicy · warm · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Cinnamomum cassia
Appearance	pale amber red to amber brown powder
Odor Strength	High
Producing Countries	China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam
Pyramid	Heart

Hot, sweet-spicy, bark-like. Chinese cinnamon — rougher and more aggressive than Ceylon cinnamon, with a pronounced coumarin sweetness and a resinous bite.

Scent
Terroir & Origins
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Hot, sweet-spicy, with a bark-like roughness and a coumarin sweetness. Hotter and less clean than Ceylon cinnamon, with a resinous bite and a denser body. The cinnamaldehyde dominance makes it aggressive on the nose at full strength. At dilution, a warm, sweet, slightly vanillic quality emerges from the coumarin content.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Searing cinnamaldehyde heat, sweet-spicy blast

After a few hours

Warm coumarin sweetness, hay-like, less aggressive

After a few days

Persistent sweet-spicy residue, warm and balsamic

Terroir & Chemotypes

Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.

The Full Story

Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia, syn. C. aromaticum) is often sold as cinnamon but is a distinct species from true cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum). The bark is thicker, darker, and more pungent, with a hotter, more aggressive spice character. The essential oil contains 70-90% cinnamaldehyde — significantly more than Ceylon cinnamon — which gives it a searing, sweet-hot intensity.

Cassia also contains coumarin at levels 100 to 1,000 times higher than Ceylon cinnamon. This coumarin contributes a sweet, hay-like, slightly vanillic undertone that Ceylon cinnamon lacks. The combination of high cinnamaldehyde and high coumarin makes cassia simultaneously hotter and sweeter than its gentler cousin.

In perfumery, cassia oil provides a bold, unsubtle cinnamon effect. It is used when the perfumer wants cinnamon heat front and center rather than as a background spice. The oil is also used in functional perfumery (toothpaste, chewing gum, cola flavoring) where cinnamaldehyde punch is the goal.

Explore all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Cinnamon · Cinnamon Leaf

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Most 'cinnamon' sold in the United States is actually cassia. True Ceylon cinnamon (C. verum) accounts for less than 5% of the global cinnamon market. The difference matters medically: cassia's high coumarin content (up to 1% by weight) has been linked to liver damage in sensitive individuals when consumed daily in supplement doses.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Steam distillation of the bark of Cinnamomum cassia produces a dark reddish-brown essential oil. The oil contains 70-90% cinnamaldehyde, with significant coumarin content. Cassia leaf oil is also produced and has a similar but slightly less clean profile. Major production in Chin a (Guangxi, Guangdong provinces) and Vietnam. Yields are approximately 1-2% from dried bark.

↑ See Terroir & Origins for origin-specific methods.

Molecular Formula	C₉H₈O (cinnamaldehyde, major component ~75-90%)
CAS Number	8007-80-5
Botanical Name	Cinnamomum cassia
IFRA Status	Restricted — sensitizer; high cinnamaldehyde content; IFRA limits in leave-on products
Synonyms	CHINESE CINNAMON · CASSIA CINNAMON
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	High
Appearance	pale amber red to amber brown powder
Flash Point	~76 °C
Refractive Index	1.600-1.614

In Perfumery

Cassia is a top-to-heart spice note providing bold cinnamon heat. The essential oil is 70-90% cinnamaldehyde and must be used carefully — it is a skin sensitizer at high concentrations. Functions in amber, gourmand, and spicy compositions where strong cinnamon character is desired. More aggressive than cinnamon bark oil (Ceylon), which is used for subtler spice effects. IFRA restricts cinnamaldehyde levels in fine fragrance. The coumarin content adds a sweet-hay quality absent in purer cinnamon oils.