Every blend has its quiet spark, the ingredient that makes everything around it glow a little warmer.
In Élixir d'Extase, that spark is cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon, to be exact: the delicate, true cinnamon of Sri Lanka.
Cinnamon is the spice empires went to war over, and it has perfumed temples, apothecaries, and kitchens for thousands of years. In our jar, it's the warmth you taste just after the honey. Quiet, but you'd miss it if it were gone.
Ceylon vs Cassia: True Cinnamon and Its Bolder Cousin
Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is "true" cinnamon, grown mainly in Sri Lanka: thin, papery bark rolled into many fine layers, with a light, sweet, citrusy flavor. Cassia, from related trees grown mostly in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, is the cinnamon most spice racks hold: thicker, harder, darker, and more intensely spicy.
Both are cinnamon. They're just not the same cinnamon.
Cassia is the bold one, the warm, sweet-hot flavor most of us grew up with. It arrives all at once, and there's a lot to love about it.
Ceylon is gentler. Its bark rolls into paper-fine layers, like a scroll within a scroll, and it tastes of citrus, a little honey, and soft, rounded warmth.
There's one more difference worth knowing. Cassia is naturally much higher in coumarin, a compound that food-safety agencies advise keeping modest in large daily amounts, while Ceylon has only traces.
That doesn't make cassia the villain of the story. It's simply the bolder cousin.
Ceylon Cinnamon and Sri Lanka's Cinnamon Coast
Ceylon cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, the island that gave it its name. Sri Lanka still supplies most of the world's true cinnamon, as it has for centuries.
It was precious enough that over three centuries, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and then the British fought for control of the island's cinnamon coast. It still costs more than cassia today, partly because its thin inner bark is peeled and rolled by hand, quill by quill.
Why Does Cinnamon Taste Warm?
Cinnamon warms, and on the tongue that's quite literal.
Cinnamaldehyde, the compound that gives the bark its scent and bite, wakes up sensory nerves in your mouth - the same receptors that answer to mustard and wasabi. So when you taste cinnamon and feel that spreading glow, your nerves really are firing.
Traditional herbalists went further, prizing cinnamon as a warmth that travels, out to the hands, the feet, and the lips.
Cinnamon in Ayurveda and Beyond
Long before anyone mapped a nerve receptor, traditions all over the world had already fallen for cinnamon.
In Ayurveda, cinnamon is a warming spice, traditionally used to kindle agni, the digestive fire considered the foundation of vitality. Ayurveda also has a lovely word for an ingredient that carries the others: yogavahi. Honey, the base of Élixir d'Extase, is the classic example.
Honey carries. Cinnamon kindles.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, cinnamon bark (here it's cassia, the bolder cousin) is classed as a warming herb, traditionally used to warm the kidneys, stoke the fire of what's called the gate of vitality, and move qi and blood. It's reached for when the body's vital warmth has receded.
And in medieval Europe, cinnamon was among the most precious things in the apothecary, prized for its reputed power to stir what herbalists called "vital heat."
Three continents, three very different philosophies, thousands of years of practice - and every one of them, in its own language, called cinnamon warm.
Ceylon Cinnamon in Élixir d'Extase
Here's what I love about cinnamon in a blend: it's a bridge. Its sweetness leans toward the honey and the vanilla. Its spice stands up to the earthier damiana and shatavari. Its warmth wraps around the rose. In Élixir d'Extase, it's the note that turns a list of botanicals into one flavor.
Damiana has its love-potion legend, vanilla has its orchid, and rose has the poets. Cinnamon is the quiet one, rolling up its sleeves while the others take their bows.
If you'd like to taste that quiet spark for yourself, it's waiting in Élixir d'Extase: raw, unfiltered honey from a regenerative farm in Upstate New York, infused with kanna extract plus organic shatavari, damiana, rose, vanilla, and Ceylon cinnamon. A serving is two teaspoons, and the label allows up to four.
A gentle note on safety. Élixir d'Extase contains kanna, which acts on serotonin, so never combine it with SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, or any other serotonergic medication. Skip it if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, and if you take any prescription medication, ask your doctor first.
A Warm Invitation
Cinnamon will never be the loudest thing in the room, and it doesn't need to be. It's the warmth that gathers everything else together, and honestly, I think we could all use a little more of that.
So slow down tonight.
Wrap your hands around something warm.
Let the quiet spark do its thing.
xo, Nana ✨
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell Ceylon cinnamon from cassia?
Look at the sticks. Ceylon quills are pale tan, made of many thin, papery layers rolled together, and they crumble easily. Cassia sticks are a single thick, hard layer of darker, reddish-brown bark. Ground, Ceylon is lighter in color and milder in taste.
Why is Ceylon cinnamon more expensive than cassia?
It's grown mainly in Sri Lanka, in far smaller quantities than cassia, and its thin inner bark is still peeled and rolled into quills by hand. Cassia is produced at a much larger scale, mostly in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
What is cinnamon traditionally used for?
Almost everywhere, it's been prized as a warming spice. Ayurveda traditionally uses it to kindle agni, the digestive fire; Traditional Chinese Medicine counts cinnamon bark among its warming herbs; and medieval European apothecaries ranked it among their most precious spices.
Which cinnamon is in Élixir d'Extase?
Ceylon cinnamon, the "true" cinnamon of Sri Lanka. Its light, citrusy warmth sits beautifully with the raw honey, rose, and vanilla.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.