Cinnamon flakes | Cao Bang Cassia Cinnamon
50 grams, tea cut
Buy It With
Intense, sweet, spicy and slightly hot
You can let the pieces steep (in a tea egg) in stews or sauces, or make tea from them. You can also grind them yourself in an electric spice grinder or a hand grinder to use as cinnamon powder. Steam (hot water) ensures that the flavors are released well, as do alcohol and fat.
For cinnamon rolls or apple pie with an intense cinnamon flavor, use this cassia, but due to its pungent taste, it is also very suitable for savory dishes, such as winter stews, tomato sauce, Mexican bean dishes, for a dhal, curry or pilaf, or add a few pieces of cinnamon to your pickled vegetables for a warm aroma.
This cassia cinnamon is warm, sweet, intensely flavored, and slightly spicy.
The cassia grows in Cao Bang, in the very north of Vietnam. This region is where cassia and star anise grow on hills among other crops. It's a naturally regenerative system, protected by the local government. Private farmers collect the spices in the area around where they live, and our partner DACE collects, dries, and distributes the spices. They have been committed for years to ecological farming, empowering women, supporting children's education in the region, and preserving nature. Furthermore, this ensures farmers a guaranteed purchase at a stable price, so they don't have to try to sell their goods at the local market themselves.
What is special about this cassia cinnamon is that it contains a very low coumarin content. Coumarin is a substance found in cassia cinnamon that can be harmful to the liver if consumed in excess. With this cassia cinnamon, you don't have to worry about that; it contains only 10% of the amount of coumarin normally found in cassia cinnamon.
The 'cinnamon flakes' are perfect for making tea or for simmering in a stew or sauce (use a tea infuser to easily remove them). You can also grind the cinnamon yourself with an (electric) spice grinder. Grinding it fresh makes the flavors even more intense!
How is this chain structured?
All our chains have their own story. Their own piece of land, their own farmer. It is grown and processed in a certain way. Journey with us to discover the story behind this taste.
The cassia cinnamon comes from Cao Bằng in northern Vietnam (near the Chinese border). Here, our partner DACE works with over 3,000 small-scale farmers who harvest cinnamon and star anise in the hilly landscape where they live.
What is special about this cassia cinnamon is not only its intense flavor (which comes from the fact that this cinnamon is harvested from mature trees up to 10 meters tall, instead of young saplings as happens on plantations), but especially its very low coumarin content. Normally, cassia cinnamon contains a percentage of coumarin that can be toxic to your liver if you consume too much of it. This cassia cinnamon contains only 300 mg/kg of coumarin, which is about 10% of the average coumarin content.
The cinnamon grows wild, in a naturally regenerative system in a hilly area. The local government has made it a protected area, so logging and planting are not permitted at will. When cinnamon trees are harvested, new trees are planted in their place.
Many different plants grow intertwined here. Besides cinnamon trees, there are also trees with star anise. DACE also helps farmers plant other spices, such as ginger, among the trees, so they can get more value from their land.
Cinnamon is harvested twice a year: in spring and in autumn. The autumn harvest contains more essential oils and is therefore somewhat more intense in flavour.
Let's make an impact!
Each chain not only has its own story but also its own challenges. We would like to explain what impact we make per chain and how we address specific challenges.
Our partner DACE is committed to preserving the natural, organic form of agriculture in this region. They ensure that farmers receive a steady income, at a better price. They also support projects for women's empowerment and children's education.
A challenge in the cassia supply chain is that farmers have to compete with cheap harvests from neighboring China. Even though this cassia contains much more coumarin than that from Vietnam, many traders ultimately buy based on price and not on quality.
Harvesting is a challenge for the farmers. It all has to be done by hand and part of the area is not easily accessible. They ride scooters up the mountain (slippery dirt roads) and then have to ride down the mountain with a scooter full of cinnamon to deliver it. Or they carry the cinnamon on their backs, which is a very heavy burden on the body. Many children therefore no longer want to do this work and move to the city, so parents have to continue working until old age and it is questionable whether successors will be found for the family business.
Frequently asked questions
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Air, light, and moisture are detrimental to the quality of your spices. Therefore, store them in a well-sealed jar or tin that is opaque (or in a dark kitchen cupboard or drawer). Also, do not store them above your stove, as cooking fumes can then reach them. Always transfer your spices from a repack into a tightly sealable jar or tin as quickly as possible.
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The shelf life of spices is primarily determined by the loss of flavour that occurs over time, as otherwise, they generally don't go bad. We apply a shelf life of 2.5 - 3 years after harvest. This depends partly on the time of filling and also whether they are whole spices that you have to grind yourself or pre-ground powder.
Spices in the supermarket are often already 2-3 years old before they are even packaged and then receive a shelf life of another 3-5 years. Primarily use your senses to assess whether it's still good. At some point, there will simply be no flavour left, which is a waste of a good meal!
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We do not have organic certification, even though our spices meet these standards. All farmers work in harmony with nature and without pesticides, but unfortunately, the certification process is very expensive. For small farmers, it's virtually unaffordable. And we want to show them that it is worthwhile to cultivate spices sustainably. That there are people willing to pay for a quality natural product and that they don't have to make a huge impossible investment in the form of certification first.
Some of our farmers do have the certificate, by the way. Cooperatives, for example, can apply for the certification process jointly, which makes it much more affordable. However, to be able to state this on the packaging, our entire chain would also have to be certified, including the sheltered workshop where the spices are packaged. This is currently not possible because they also work for other non-organic producers. So, in short: no, we are not officially certified, but the quality and method of working are at least as good.
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Single Origin means that a product comes from one specific place. Often, harvests from different places, sometimes even from different countries and different years, are mixed together. Traders do this to develop the cheapest possible product with a consistent taste. With us, you know exactly where your spices come from, right down to the name of the farmer. This also means that the quality can sometimes vary, as it is a natural product. For example, one year may be drier than another, which can lead to a change in taste. But our farmers always strive for the highest possible taste experience, and you can taste it!
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We always strive to purchase the latest harvest. Of course, it can sometimes happen that we still have some of an old harvest in stock while the new harvest is already ready. So, we cannot always guarantee that you will receive the very latest harvest, but we do aim for it as much as possible. On the packaging, you will find a QR code leading to a page where you can find out exactly when your spices were harvested and when they were filled into the tins/bags. With this, we aim for complete transparency in our process.
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We ship to most European countries, but this naturally involves higher shipping costs. Would you like to order from a country but it's not possible? Please contact us so we can look into the options.
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At the Siza Social Workshop, they do their utmost to pack the parcels the day after the order. If it's busy, it might take an extra day. They don't work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so for example, if you order on a Thursday, it will take a bit longer before your parcel is dispatched.
Once the parcels are ready, they are collected by Groene Rijders and delivered by their bicycle couriers in the areas they serve, or outsourced to PostNL. Depending on how busy they are, they also aim to deliver within 1 working day.