Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian/Korintje cassia)

Intermediate coumarin (0.5-0.8%); moderate oil content (1.5-2.5%, lowest of cassia types); warm, balanced flavour. Represents ~80% of cinnamon consumed in USA/Europe. Growing commercial interest in South Indian processors.

Key facts

Figures are indicative, compiled from public agricultural sources (ICAR institutes, State Agricultural Universities, the Spices Board and the National Innovation Foundation) and vary with soil, season and management. Confirm with your local package of practices.

Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian/Korintje cassia) in detail

Cinnamomum burmannii is the reddish-brown cassia that dominates global commerce, accounting for roughly 80% of the cinnamon consumed in the USA and Europe and supplying most US grocery-shelf powder.

Origin & story

Indigenous to Southeast Asia, C. burmannii grows wild and cultivated across Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The name "Korintje" derives from the Kerinci Valley, a high volcanic area straddling West Sumatra and Jambi provinces and long known as a centre of production. The variety became commercially dominant during the colonial spice trade and remains the primary cassia cinnamon of commerce today.

How it grows

The Kerinci region of West Sumatra is a major production centre, with trees grown in volcanic soil in a cool, frequently wet mountain climate. C. burmannii regenerates from basal shoots after harvest (coppicing), giving a shorter rotation than Ceylon verum. Indonesian smallholder farmers supply the bulk of the world's cassia cinnamon. There is growing commercial interest among South Indian processors; high-density cinnamon intercropping with coconut has shown promise in Indian trials, though those published trials used C. verum, and no formal ICAR-IISR trials of C. burmannii specifically appear in open literature.

Quality & character

Quills are reddish-brown on the outside with darker inner bark, and are thicker than Ceylon verum (roughly 3-5 mm), which holds more oil and pigment. Bark is sun-dried and graded by thickness and aroma. Volatile-oil yield is moderate at about 1.5-2.5%, the lowest among cassia types; reported trans-cinnamaldehyde content of the bark oil varies widely with extraction (published ranges span roughly 17-74%, around a 60% reference standard). Coumarin content is intermediate, higher than Ceylon cinnamon: authenticated and sampled values fall around 2-5 g/kg (about 0.2-0.5%). The flavour is warm and balanced with moderately high aromatic intensity.

Why it matters to buyers

Korintje is the industrial standard for cassia: consistent supply, predictable flavour, lower cost than Ceylon verum, and suitable for bulk food processing, baking blends, and spice formulations. Its higher coumarin content (relative to Ceylon) is worth keeping in mind for products consumed daily; the EFSA tolerable daily intake for coumarin is 0.1 mg per kg body weight. South Indian spice processors show growing commercial interest, and the rapid coppicing and shorter rotation underpin its cost advantage against slower-growing Ceylon varieties.

Other cinnamon varieties

• Navashree (C. verum)
• Nithyashree (C. verum)
• YCD-1 (Yercaud cinnamon)
• PPI(C)1 (Pechiparai cinnamon)
• Konkan Tej
• Sugandhini (ODC-130, C. verum)
• True Cinnamon / Cinnamomum verum (botanical type)
• Cassia / Cinnamomum cassia (botanical type)
• Cinnamomum loureiroi (Saigon cinnamon, Vietnamese cinnamon)