This Royal Cinnamon spice has been harvested in the mountains around the ancient Vietnamese capital city of Huế for millennia.
Royal Cinnamon is the species Cinnamomum loureiroi, an heirloom variety very rarely exported, and it exemplifies the intense sweetness and spiciness for which Vietnamese cinnamon is prized. Cinnamomum loureiroi was historically called Saigon cinnamon, but most of what's exported as Saigon cinnamon these days is Cinnamomum cassia. They are different species, but they are often confused for one another, and it's worth noting that neither cinnamon grows anywhere near Saigon!
Use it in place of Saigon or other cinnamons in pastries and baked goods, or sprinkle into rich, savory meat or tomato-based dishes.
What They're Saying:
"An out-of-this-world cinnamon and yes, you can taste the difference." - The Daily Beast
"Compared to any other ground cinnamon, this is powerful stuff." -Bon Apetit
"My favorite cinnamon is the Vietnam-sourced Royal Cinnamon from Burlap & Barrel." -Ben Mims, LA TImes
"It is so robust and so complex, I cannot go back to any other." - Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen
- Origin: Quang Nam Mountains, Vietnam
- Aliases: Saigon cinnamon, cassia cinnamon
- Process: Sun-dried
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Ingredients: Royal cinnamon, ground (Cinnamomum loureiroi)
- Tasting notes: Brown Butter • Buckwheat Honey • Orange Peel
COOKING
- Beautiful in baked goods, spice cookies and desserts
- Sprinkle over yogurt and oatmeal, and add to smoothies
SOURCING
Royal Cinnamon comes from the mountains of Quang Nam in central Vietnam. This area was historically famous for spicy, sweet cinnamon, but in the last decade, the commodity market has shifted further north, where the prices are lower. Everyone told us that this area wasn't worth visiting and that their heirloom cinnamon variety wasn't being harvested anymore. We were very happy to discover that's not the case - the cinnamon here IS being harvested, and is incredible, probably the most intense we've ever tasted.
They use a technique for harvesting cinnamon that we've never encountered before - instead of chopping down the tree to harvest the bark, they make a deep cut around the base of the tree and let the bark dry on the tree for a couple of weeks before harvesting it. That makes it easier to harvest, but it also concentrates essential oils rather than letting them evaporate as the bark dries in the hot sun. The bark comes off the tree mostly dry and very intensely spicy and sweet, with a beautiful fragrance that we could smell from half a mile away.