Compound quills, measuring 42 ins. long (just over 1 m), are sorted into grades according to the thickness of the hark. Three main qualities are exported: the ‘Tine’ or ‘Continental’ grades, the intermediate `Mexican’ grades, and the ‘Hamburg’ grades.
Within each category, there is a further classification according to the thickness of the quills. Ceylon cinnamon quills imported into the United Kingdom are mainly used industrially in the manufacture of a wide variety of processed foods or for the production of cinnamon bark oil or cinnamon oleoresin. A small quantity is either cut up into pieces about 15 cm or ground into a fine powder or mixed with other spices by spice merchants or millers for the retail pharmaceutical and grocery trades.
Kwantung cassia has an oil content of at least 1.7 ml per 100 g, and Kwangsi 3.4 to 4.0 ml per 100 g, according to information provided in 1974 by the Native Product Corporation, Peking (via the British Embassy). This contrasts with Landes (1951), who reported that best quality Kwangsi cassia contained 2 to 2.75 per cent volatile oil and Kwantung 1.0 to 1.2 per cent.
The names Honan or Yunnan cassia, which were formerly used to describe the finest qualities of Kwangsi cassia, are now no longer used, and the Chinese sell Kwangsi and Kwantung cassias under the brand names Tung Sing and Si Chang respectively.
The harvesting and preparation of cinnamon in Sri Lanka is generally undertaken for a farmer by contract peelers, usually a group of two families. Sufficient material is cut for a day’s peeling, the working day being from about 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Stems, measuring 1.2-5.0 cm in diameter, are cut early in the morning and the twigs and leaves are detached; the last may be retained for distillation purposes. The cut stems are then bundled and are transported by bullock cart to the peeling shed.
According to Landes (1951), Saigon cassia was produced in the district of Binh Dinh and in the regions of the Tchamy and Tchampong mountains, and exported from Saigon in four grades based upon the thickness of the bark, namely: (1) Thin bark, usually A-. in. (0.8 mm), but thin bark from the Tchamy region was usually paper-thin; (2) Medium bark, usually s to It in. (1.6 to 3.2 mm) thick; (3) Thick bark, usually over 18- in. (3.2 mm) thick; (4) Broken bark – all the Saigon cassias were usually very tightly curled in several layers and, in the process of eliminating the dirt, the bark was broken; added to it were the pieces cut off the rolls (quills) when they were being bundled.
