It's Christmas season again, and I'm sure many people are obsessed with that glass of mulled wine, and there are plenty of mulled wine-flavored drinks on the market, but you know, its soul is the humble cinnamon. Now it looks inconspicuous and can be bought everywhere, but the history of cinnamon in Europe is very dramatic, and there have been wars for its rights.
Source: delish
The earliest record of cinnamon appeared in China in 2700 BC, and it is also recorded in the Bible and on Egyptian papyrus. Beginning around the 3rd century BC, spices such as cinnamon were introduced to Europe along the Silk Road through Arab traders.
Source: spices-on-the-silk-road
Cinnamon WarsDue to the special origin of cinnamon, it needs to be transported over long distances, and like black pepper, cinnamon used to be a very expensive spice in Europe, and it is said that in ancient Rome, this spice was once more expensive than **. It is precisely because of its high price that there are high profits, coupled with the huge market demand, cinnamon has become the focus of competition among businessmen at that time. From the 12th to the 14th century, cinnamon** was in the hands of the Venetians. In 1518, the Portuguese first discovered the origin of cinnamon in Ceylon, what we now know as Sri Lanka. And had a monopoly on the island and cinnamon** for about 100 years. Since then, whoever controls the ** route to Ceylon controls the monopoly of the precious cinnamon and the wealth that comes with it. In 1640, the Portuguese monopoly was interrupted by the Dutch, who occupied the port of Galle in Ceylon and founded the world's first international company, the Dutch East India Company. Due to the defeat of the Netherlands in the Anglo-Dutch War, in 1796, the British arrived in Ceylon, and the British East India Company began to take control of Cinnamon**. By 1833, the decline of the cinnamon monopoly began when other countries discovered that cinnamon could be easily cultivated in areas such as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Guyana. Nowadays, cinnamon is also grown in South America, the West Indies, and other tropical climate regions.
Chinese Cinnamon vs Ceylon CinnamonCinnamon is known as cinnamon in the West and cinnamon bark in China. In fact, they are indeed two different varieties of cinnamon. Both come from the dried bark of evergreen trees in the Lauraceae family. Chinese cinnamon (cassia cinnamon) is also known as cinnamon. It originated in southern China and is the main spice in the Lingnan region south of the Yangtze River in China. Cultivation there was so widespread that when China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, conquered the Nanyue Kingdom in 216 BC, he named this beautiful region Guilin, which means "Cinnamon Forest". In several poems of the Chu Ci, rice wine flavored with cinnamon is mentioned. Chinese cinnamon tends to be a dark brown red color, coarser and coarser in texture than Ceylon cinnamon. It is one of the most commonly used in the world. Almost all cinnamon in supermarkets is a Chinese cinnamon variety. Chinese cinnamon for a long timeFor cookingCookingwithTraditional Chinese medicine。About 90% of its essential oils are:Cinnamaldehyde, which gives Chinese cinnamon a very strong, spicy flavor. 
Source: PaleofoundationAnother is Ceylon Cinnamon, also known as true cinnamon or sweet cinnamon, which is native to Sri Lanka and southern India. It is made from the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. The color of Ceylon cinnamon is tan in color and contains many tight soft layers. Ceylon cinnamon is less common and more expensive compared to the more common Chinese cinnamon variety. It is described as having a subtle and mild sweetness that is suitable for desserts. About 50-63% of the essential oil of Ceylon cinnamon is cinnamaldehyde, which is quite low compared to Chinese cinnamon. This explains why its aroma and taste are milder.
The chemical composition of cinnamon and its functionAccording to reportsCinnamon mainly contains essential oils and other derivatives, and the main component of cinnamon essential oil is cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamon bark essential oil contains about 90% cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamaldehyde is a compound that gives cinnamon a special spicy aroma and taste. According to reportsCinnamaldehyde is one of the most effective ingredients against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In addition to cinnamaldehyde, cinnamon oil contains a variety of compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Zhang et al. (2016) confirmed the mechanism of antimicrobial action of cinnamon essential oil by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which can disrupt the permeability and integrity of cell membranes and change the morphology of bacterial cell membranes by observing that cinnamon essential oil. In addition to this, cinnamon essential oil not only hasAntifungaland antimicrobial properties, moreover, hasAntioxidant activity。In addition, it has:Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, anti-mutagenic, memory-enhancingand other activities. 
Organized by the Food Research Institute.
Tens of billions of cinnamon marketThe cinnamon market size is expected to grow from 15$700 million to grow to $22 by 2028$0.0 billion, with a CAGR of 7% during the ** period (2023-2028) We also mentioned earlier that cinnamon helps to improve and prevent various medical diseases. As a result, it has applications in various sectors such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. To a large extent, the growing consumer awareness about healthy foods and ingredients is driving the market. Today's consumers are increasingly seeking a combination of taste and nutrition in food, and the preference for healthy eating is on the rise without compromising on the taste of food. This has further increased the demand for healthy food ingredients including spices, which are the main ingredients that give food its taste and flavor. Spices play a vital role in developing the mouthfeel and flavor of food and also contain many properties that are beneficial to health. Because of this, there will be a growing demand for healthy and delicious spices such as cinnamon. Cinnamon is known for its sweetness, which adds flavor and texture to food products. In addition, cinnamon also has properties that are beneficial for health. All these factors play a significant role in the growth of the global cinnamon market. Krispy Kreme, a well-known doughnut producer in the United States, partnered with Cinnamon Toast Crunch in 2022 to launch the Cinnamon Milk Glaze collection, adding a cereal milk flavor to its signature glaze. There are also a lot of cinnamon-flavored snacks in Europe and the United States, and cinnamon is also found in chewing gum, and cinnamon oil is also an important ingredient in cola. Cinnamon has been consumed in China for thousands of years, and in addition to being used as a spice, cinnamon is also an important medicinal and edible homologous ingredient, and its unique flavor is also well known to the public. And China is the world's largest exporter of cinnamon and the world's second-largest producer. As the market demand for cinnamon continues to increase, it is believed that it will also promote the production of cinnamon in major producing countries such as China. 
Source: Investorskrispykreme
Source: Snackandbakery