There is no chemical fertilizer used for cultivating.

As a cinnamon tree has grown 2 years old, the cultivators’ coppice or cut down the bush to the size of its stump, and then cover it with soil. This process allows the stump to grow to a new bush and produces new shoots. These shoots can be cut, stripped off their bark, peeled, and set out in the sun to dry. This causes the cinnamon barks to curl into cinnamon quills naturally. Once dried, these quills can be cut into cinnamon sticks and packaged, according to their quality that is checked by weight, and then exported. Let us walk through the various processes involved in harvesting, processing, and production of Ceylon Cinnamon.

Harvesting Of Ceylon Cinnamon

 Ceylon cinnamon is harvested twice a year, right after the rainy season when the humidity picks up and makes the peeling of the barks simpler. The cinnamon trees are first harvested when they are three years old, and a year after pruning. The stems from the sides are detached and the barks are stripped off. The stems that are of size between 1.2 and 5 cm are selected and pure cinnamon barks are fetched from them.

Processing Of Ceylon Cinnamon Barks

The quality of Ceylon cinnamon sticks and Ceylon cinnamon quills rely on how efficiently the barks are removed from the stems. This process is the most labor-intensive and accounts for 60% of the total production costs involved in the processing of Ceylon cinnamon. Skilled peelers scrap off the outer dead surface of the barks using specialized tools. The stages involved in the processing are numerous

• Primarily, the tender stems that are of less than 1.2 centimeters of diameter, are removed and used for mulching.
• Stems of diameters less than 5 centimeters are removed and utilized for distillation to prepare cinnamon oil.
• The outer barks are removed with a sharp rasp knife.
• The stripped stem is rubbed with a brass rod to loosen the inner barks, without letting it turn discolored.
• Cuts are made around the stem at intervals of 30 centimeters.
• Long cuts are then made along the length of the stem to ease it off the bark.
• These removed pieces of bark are compound cinnamon quills, that are placed inside one another to form long Ceylon cinnamon quills which are of 1 meter in length.
• Drying Of Compound Ceylon Cinnamon Quills

The compound Ceylon cinnamon quills obtained after processing are now placed on coir rope racks and allowed to dry in the shade to ensure the prevention of warping for a period of 4 to 5 days. These quills are then rolled over a board to let the filling tighten up, followed by letting it to further dry in subdued sunlight.

The use of a mechanical dryer is advised during rainy days for drying. Electrical, Biomass fueled, as well as gas-fired dryers are available to suit different situations of drying.