Cinnamon Leaf EO

Latin name :

Cinnamomum zeylanicum eugenoliferum

Botanical profile :

The cinnamon tree is a tree of the Lauraceae family and the Cinnamomum genus.

Geographic origin :

The cinnamon tree grows at low altitudes in parts of Sri Lanka, Madagascar, China and Japan

Chemotypes :

There are more than 250 species of cinnamon trees throughout Southeast Asia, China and Australia. The perfume industry generally uses only two of those varieties of cinnamon:
Cinnamomum zeylanicum : Ceylon cinnamon EO. Leaves are extracted.
Cinnamomum cassia : Chinese cinnamon or Cassia EO. Leaves from this tree are not extracted for perfumery.
We can also distinguish Cinnamomum burmanni : Korintje cassia SFE and Cinnamomum tamala : Indian cinnamon, much less cultivated.
The difference between the two types of cinnamon lies in the way they are dried. Cassia dries forming two spirals, whereas Ceylon cinnamon forms thin layers of wood which crumble easily. The chinese variety is also darker and harder. Ceylon cinnamon has a more zesty and terpenic smell than the Chinese cinnamon, which contains more Cinnamaldehyde.

Extraction process :

The cinnamon tree is up to seven meters tall. Several parts of this tree can be extracted to obtain essential oils. When dried, the bark gives the commonly used cinnamon sticks and the leaves measures seven to eighteen centimetres long.
The leaves and the bark are mature 12 to 18 months after the preceding harvest. From red to dark green, the colour of the leaves indicates the cinnamon maturity. The culture often takes place in May and November. The leaves are collected by cutting the twigs off the tree and separating the leaves from the branches. The leaves are ground and dried before they are extracted by steam distillation.
About 1 hectare of cinnamon forest allows to cultivate 1 ton of leaves, offering a yield of 2.5 to 3 kg of essential oil (extraction yield: 0.3%).

Major Components :

Eugenol (70-80%)
Benzyl Benzoate (≈4%)
Cinnamyl Acetate (≈2%)
Cinnamic Aldehyde (≈2%)
Eugenyl Acetate (≈1%)
Safrole (≈1%)