Cinnamon Powder | Wild Ceylon Cinnamon
50 grams, powder
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The cinnamon first tastes sweet, then fresh, almost citrusy, and then comes that recognizable cinnamon flavor. This ultimately results in a warming woody taste.
The flavor component cinnamaldehyde needs time to be fully released. You can certainly eat cinnamon unprocessed (just a spoonful in your yogurt), but if you want more complex flavors to be released, it needs heat.
Therefore, add a cinnamon stick at the beginning of the cooking process when making a stew or sauce. Fat and alcohol also help release the flavors, as does steam. So cook your dish with a lid on the pan, allowing plenty of steam to be released.
Cinnamon can be found in spice mixes such as speculaas spice, pumpkin spice, mole mix, and Jamaican jerk rub. The cinnamon flavor pairs well with various fruits, for example, peaches, apples, plums, figs, pears, and cherries. It's also delicious in savory dishes with tomatoes and eggplants. Red meat, such as lamb (for example in a tagine), also combines well with Ceylon cinnamon.
The flavour unfolds in layers: first sweet, then fresh and almost citrusy, followed by the recognisable cinnamon notes. Ultimately, this results in a warming, woody taste.
Ceylon cinnamon originates from Sri Lanka – the colonial name for Sri Lanka is Ceylon. The cinnamon is harvested from individual trees growing on the land of farmers in the Eko Land community.
'Wild' cinnamon comes from trees outside the plantations, which can fully mature before the bark is harvested. This makes the bark thicker and gives it a deeper, warming woody flavour than younger branches.
Eko Land was founded by father and son: Nihal and Remon. Two completely different characters who complement each other perfectly. A few years ago, they returned to their family land to realise their dream: an eco-lodge and sustainable spice production together with the local community. They facilitate the drying of the spices, share their knowledge and look for new markets for the products.
How is this chain structured?
All our chains have their own story. Their own plot of land, their own farmer. It is grown and processed in a specific way. Join us on a journey into the story behind this taste.
This Ceylon cinnamon (also known as ‘true cinnamon’) grows in Eko Land's food forest. The trees grow wild there (and thus not on a plantation) and are fully grown, making the tree bark thick and extra flavorful.
Ceylon cinnamon originates from Sri Lanka – the colonial name for Sri Lanka is Ceylon. The cinnamon is harvested from individual trees growing on the land of small-scale tea and coffee farmers in the heart of the island.
The trees grow in a traditional food forest: Kandyan Forest Garden. In these forests, 50% is pure nature, 40% is mixed nature with trees and shrubs that produce agricultural products, and 10% is for humans only, often vegetables.
This method of cultivation is inherently organic and provides habitat for a wide range of wild animals.
The powder is a mix of old trees and young saplings, found on neglected plantations in the area.
This cinnamon can be harvested all year round.
Let's make an impact!
Each chain not only has its own story but also its own challenges. We would like to explain the impact we make on each chain and how we address specific challenges.
Eko Land buys cinnamon from small-scale local farmers at a price 33% higher than the market price. We, in turn, pay Ekoland 50% more than the market price for the processed product.
The community is supported by Eko Land providing employment and paying a fair price for local spices and forest products.
The Kandyan Forest Gardens maintain biodiversity.
Together with the Forest Healing Foundation, 10% of Eko Land's profit is donated to new spice trees and the preservation of forest areas at risk of destruction.
By buying this cinnamon, you are helping to protect these beautiful, highly biodiverse forests and ensure a sustainable spice trade.
In Sri Lanka there are tensions between population groups, which are exacerbated by economic challenges, sometimes leading to severe shortages in the country. Both issues pose challenges for Eko Land.
There is a shortage of labor because young people are less interested in agricultural work due to its low social status, physically demanding nature, and limited income.
Frequently asked questions
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Air, light, and moisture are detrimental to the quality of your spices. Therefore, store them in a tightly 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 reach them there. Always ensure that you transfer 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 do not spoil. We use a shelf life of 2.5 - 3 years after harvest. This depends partly on the time of packaging and also on whether they are whole spices that you need to grind yourself or pre-ground powder.
Spices found in supermarkets are often already 2-3 years old before they are even packaged and then receive an additional shelf life of 3-5 years. Primarily use your senses to assess whether they are still good. At some point, there will simply be no flavour left, which would be a shame for a nice meal!
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We don't have organic certification, even though our spices meet these standards. All farmers work in harmony with nature and without pesticides, but the certification process is unfortunately very expensive. It's practically unaffordable for small farmers. And we want to show them that it is worthwhile to grow spices sustainably. That there are people willing to pay for a quality natural product and that they don't first have to make a huge, impossible investment in the form of a certification.
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. But to put 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 way 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 after all. For example, one year might 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 strive to always purchase the latest harvest. Of course, it can sometimes happen that we still have some of the previous harvest in stock while the new harvest is already ready. So we cannot always guarantee that you will get the very latest harvest, but we do strive to do so as much as possible. On the packaging, you will find a QR code to a page where you can find out exactly when your spices were harvested and when they were filled into the tins/pouches. With this, we aim for full transparency in our process.
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We ship to most European countries, but this will, of course, incur higher shipping costs. Would you like to order from a country that is not currently an option? Please contact us so we can explore the possibilities.
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At the Siza Social Workplace, 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 if you order on a Thursday, for example, it will take a bit longer for your parcel to be shipped.
Once the parcels are ready, they are picked up by de Groene Rijders and delivered by their bike 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.