Cinnamon

Warm, sweet and spicy, with a woody, fiery depth.

True cinnamon, also called Ceylon cinnamon, comes from Sri Lanka. The bolder cassia comes from related species in China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The outer bark is scraped from young shoots, the delicate inner bark peeled off and dried – curling into the familiar sticks as it does. For perfume, the bark is distilled. The leaves give a second oil that smells more of clove.

Cinnamon brings warmth, sweetness and a spicy bite – like an evening by the fireplace in a bottle. In our range it appears almost equally often in the top notes (54) and the heart (55). Because it is so present, it is dosed very sparingly.

Warm-spicy, often with an oriental or gourmand note.

In Sri Lanka the shoots are cut mainly during the rainy season, when the bark comes away easily from the wood.

In our fragrances, it often appears alongside Vanilla, patchouli, bergamot, sandalwood, clove, honey, rum.

Where cinnamon came from was a well-kept secret in antiquity – Herodotus told of great birds carrying cinnamon sticks to their nests. Later the Portuguese and the Dutch fought for control of Ceylon's cinnamon trade.

• In ancient Rome, according to Pliny the Elder, a pound of cinnamon at times cost up to 1,500 denarii.
• Herodotus reported that great birds carried cinnamon sticks to their nests – its true origin long remained hidden.
• Ceylon cinnamon can be recognised by its many paper-thin layers, cassia by a single thick layer of bark.

The main component of cinnamon bark oil is cinnamaldehyde, usually more than half of it – it creates the typical cinnamon scent.