In May 2025 I had the precious opportunity to visit Young Living’s Cinnamon Bark farm and distillery in Sri Lanka. It was my first trip to Sri Lanka, and I fell in love with this beautiful country.

In Australia, I’m used to driving along and seeing signs warning of koalas or kangaroos crossing the roads. But in Sri Lanka, the signs were warning about peacocks crossing! From the moment I saw that first sign, the animal lover in me was in awe. 

Driving along the countryside, I saw peacocks, wild elephants, monkeys, snakes and so much more. I went on a safari into Kumana and then Yala national park, to meet and greet some animals I’ve never seen before – leopards, a sloth bear, and even a playful mongoose. I was in my element!

And the farm visit was of course the icing on the cake. I took the opportunity to walk the fields, touch the plants, and to discover first-hand the care that goes into our beautiful essential oils. I’m so grateful to have found Young Living in September 1998. Their passion for quality matches my passion for essential oils, so it’s the perfect marriage! I can’t imagine my life without them. 

In this post, I want to take you with me on a Sri Lankan adventure, to teach you more about our Cinnamon Bark essential oil and its production. Enjoy!

What is “True” Cinnamon?

Did you know that much of the cinnamon that we buy in shops is not actually true cinnamon? There are actually four types of cinnamon in the world.

I still remember Gary Young telling us that when we smell freshly cut grass, that’s “coumarin” that we are smelling. Coumarin is a natural plant compound. I love that aroma….but it’s not good for us when we’re ingesting it.

The problem with consuming Cassia Cinnamon is that it contains a high percentage of coumarin, which is harmful to our liver and kidneys if consumed in large quantities. In contrast, Ceylon Cinnamon has virtually undetectable levels of coumarin.

Ceylon Cinnamon is not just a spice. It is also rich in antioxidants and has a wide range of health benefits, as does its essential oil. Do a google search to see what you discover about its benefits.

It has been used for thousands of years by the ancient Egyptians during their embalming process. Because there were no refrigerators in those days, Arab merchants brought Ceylon Cinnamon to Europe to use as a meat preservative.

Cinnamon is also mentioned in the Bible as a key ingredient in the Holy Anointing oil, along with Myrrh, Sweet Cane, Cassia and Olive Oil. In Exodus 30:23, it’s part of an anointing recipe used in the Tabernacle and on the priests themselves. And in Proverbs 7:17, it’s mentioned alongside of Myrrh and Sacred Sandalwood as a perfume that can be used to create an inviting and sensual fragrance for the bedroom.

Ceylon Cinnamon – a rapidly growing industry

Young Living’s Cinnamon Bark oil comes from Ceylon Cinnamon. The bark from this evergreen plant is one of Sri Lanka’s top 4 exports, helping to support the many rural farmers with small land holdings who cultivate Ceylon Cinnamon.

In fact 80% of the people growing Ceylon Cinnamon are these farmers with small land holdings who use this crop to support their family, and 19 out of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka are cultivating cinnamon for commercial purposes. So it’s a major industry for Sri Lanka.

In 1972 the Ceylon Cinnamon industry was a US$18 million industry. 

Now it’s a US$250 million industry, with predictions that the world cinnamon market will double in the next decade.

Wild cinnamon has been harvested from the forests of central Sri Lanka since the 1500’s when the Portuguese colonised the area. Then the Dutch colonised the area, and they started up the cinnamon plantations.

More recently (in the British Era) 40,000 acres of cinnamon is now under plantation, with the farming having moved primarily to the Southern Coastal region of Sri Lanka, where Young Living’s Cinnamon Bark Seed to Seal® supplier is located.

Now, 90% of the cinnamon bark produced in Sri Lanka comes from this coastal region….and the majority of it (60%) is sold to Latin America.

This has been a learning process. Generations ago, it was believed that Cinnamon needed a wet climate to thrive. But it’s now been discovered that it will also grow well in a dry climate.

Another exciting discovery is that elephants don’t like eating cinnamon! There is a lot of dry land in Sri Lanka where elephants roam, and this can be cultivated with cinnamon (without the elephants harming the crops).

Cinnamon trees grow to 20 to 25 metres in the wild. But when these trees are being cultivated for their bark, the plant is only allowed to grow 2.5 to 3 metres (12 ft) in height. That way it is much easier to harvest.

When planting the rows of cinnamon plants, 5 or more plants are grown in a single pot, and all are put in the ground together. This allows them to grow as a bunch of stems rather than a single trunk, this bunch of stems being referred to as a “bush”. Three years after planting is the first harvest, then the bush can be harvested every 6 to 8 months after that.

Harvesting takes place for 6 to 8 months of the year, and each harvesting round there are one or two stems taken from each shrub. After these stems have been cut, new shoots arise from the cut, and it takes 18 months before those new stems can be harvested. Meanwhile, there are all the other stems in that collection of plants that can be harvested at each round of cutting.

Each stem within the bush is pruned to remove side-stems, so that it will grow as a single straight stem. This makes it easier to peel the bark off when the cinnamon is harvested. A special knife is used to remove the side stems, and instead of using the knife to cut downwards to remove the stems, the knife is swiped upwards.

Swiping upwards means less strength is used in the cut, so the plant is less likely to be damaged.

As for weeding, this is done by hand. I love to think of this as the Cinnamon tree’s revenge, because if herbicides are used, new shoots won’t emerge from where the old shoots have been cut. So no herbicides are used in Cinnamon plantations for this reason.

Processing the Cinnamon Bark

Cinnamon Bark is harvested in the very early morning, and submerged in water to prevent it drying out. You want the stem as hydrated as possible, because if it is harvested at noon, the bark has already dried out and it sticks to the trunk and is more difficult to peel.

After submerging in water, the first step is to remove any knots on the bark where the side branches have been previously cut off (with that upwards swipe of the knife).

The next step is to scrape the outer cork layer. This is a very delicate process, requiring a lot of experience and the perfect amount of pressure in order to remove the outer bark layer without damaging the inner bark.

After scraping out, the next step is rubbing. A machine or a brass rod is rubbed along the cinnamon stick. Only brass or stainless steel can be used for this step – any other metal creates a chemical interaction with the cinnamon sap. This rubbing creates friction which breaks the bond between the stem and the bark, making it easier to then peel the bark off. When sap comes out during the rubbing process, you know it’s been done correctly. This rubbing step takes a lot of effort when performed manually, and it used to be a job for men only. But the latest trend is for women to be more involved in the production process than men.

The next step in the process is the bark peeling, which utilises a specific kind of knife, and leaves you with your sliver of cinnamon bark – either as a whole long piece of bark, or in smaller pieces.

After peeling, the bark is allowed to air dry for 20 to 30 minutes, which is when it curls up to become a tubular shape.

Next comes the quill making process. Each piece is stacked on top of each other to create a specific length of quill, eg. 1 metre (42 inches). Smaller pieces of cinnamon bark are used as infilling (see left pic above), then the bark is allowed to dry for 4 to 5 days (see middle pic above).

This quill-making process can be only done with true Ceylon Cinnamon because it’s softer and less thick than Cassia Cinnamon. The thickness of the quill dictates the grade of the Cinnamon stick. You have Alba, Continental (with subgrades of C5-Special, C5 and C4), Mexican (M5 and M4 grades) and Hamburg (with H1 and H2 grades).

Alba is your top quality. It’s quills are thinner (6-8mm in diameter), whereas H1 is very thick. You need a very high quality bark to make a thin quill.

The grading system helps differentiate the quality and value of Ceylon cinnamon, with higher grades having a more delicate flavour and aroma. 

It’s these quills which are used to produce Cinnamon Bark oil, as well as cinnamon powder.

Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil

The leaves from the Cinnamon plant can be used to make essential oil (although that’s not the oil that Young Living supplies, and it isn’t used in food and beverages). Cinnamon leaf oil is rich in a compound called eugenol (which is also found in high proportions in clove oil). Cinnamon leaf oil is used for skin care, household cleaning, hand wash, and as an insect repellent.

In contrast, the essential oil from Cinnamon Bark is rich in cinnamaldehyde. It has a wide range of uses:

• It can be used as a culinary oil for flavouring food and beverages
• It can be diffused to benefit the mind
• It can be applied topically in skin care recipes
• It can be used as a natural preservative, and
• It’s one of the ingredients in our powerful Thieves essential oil blend, which is so potent against airborne bacteria and mould.

Here’s how to order…

If you already have your own wholesale account with Young Living, you can order through the shopping cart on your virtual office, or via phone or live chat with your local Young Living office.

If it’s been more than 12 months since you’ve ordered, or if you’ve never set up an account, please reach out to the person who introduced you to Young Living.

You will need their member number when you place your first order.

If you have lost touch with them, or need any other assistance, we are here to help. Simply click on the button below, and we’ll be in touch to assist you and help answer your questions.