How many types of cassia in Vietnam are available for export?

In Vietnam, cinnamon is famous for the name cassia. Vietnamese cassia is grown in several provinces but mainly in Yen Bai province. Specifically, Yen Bai accounts for nearly 90% of the total Vietnamese cassia. This land has soil and weather which are very favorable for growing high-quality cassia in Vietnam. As a result, Vietnam has a variety of cassia types. Today, Vihaba would like to give you the details about types of cassia in Vietnam

General introduction about Vietnamese cassia

Cassia is a woody, perennial tree that can grow up to 15m tall in an adult tree, and up to 40cm in diameter at chest height (1.3m). The parts of the cinnamon tree such as bark, leaves, flowers, wood, and roots, all contain essential oils. Especially in the bark with the highest essential oil content, sometimes reaching 4-5%. The cassia essential oil has a yellow color, the main component is Cinnamic aldehyde, accounting for about 70-90%. They have an aromatic, spicy, and sweet taste that is very popular. 

Normally, the low cinnamon forests can only be harvested in 3-5 years. However, for high-quality products, cinnamon trees must be over 15 years old. All parts of the cinnamon tree such as bark, leaves, flowers, wood, and roots can be used. But people mainly harvest cinnamon bark, cinnamon branches, or leaves to dry or store essential oils.

The popular types of Cassia for export in Vietnam

Produced from cassia stalks over 20 years old. After the outer skin layer is removed, the cassia bark is dried and rolled up naturally. Firstly, raw material is shaved off its outer bark off when it is still fresh. Then cut into sticks which are 30-45 cm in length and 3-4 cm in width. This is the important stage to determine the rolled rate, the diameter of the stick. After cutting, under natural sunshine, it will roll and turn yellow as we see the completed products. The dry and yellow cassia sticks, one more time, will be cut as per the customer’s requirement like 6, 8, 10, 12 cm. 

Depending on the purpose of use, cinnamon is classified into different types. Here are some popular types of Vietnamese cassia for export

 

CASSIA / CINNAMON

Description	Moisture	Admixture	Length	Color	Packing
FINGER CASSIA (CIGARETTE CASSIA VERRA)	13.5% max	0.5% max	8-20cm	Natural color, smooth touch	10kgs/carton
WHOLE CASSIA	13.5% max	1% max	Length: 30-45cm Thickness: 2 mm -3mm	No fungus, natural colour (skin remove if required)	15kgs/carton
SQUARE CUT CASSIA     (With / Without Skin)	13.5% max	1% max	Size: 2 x 2cm up, Oil content: 2%-4%	No fungus, natural colour	15kgs/carton
ROUND CUT CASSIA	13.5% max	1% max	Size: Length cut 2.5 cm up, Oil content: 2%-4%	No fungus, natural colour	15kgs/carton
SPLIT CASSIA	13.5% max	1% max	30-45cm (80%min)	No fungus, natural colour	10kgs/carton
PRESSED CASSIA	13.5% max	2% max	35-45cm (80%min)	No fungus, natural colour	10 or 20 kgs/carton
BROKEN CASSIA	13.5% max	2% max	Length: 7-25cm (80%min)	No fungus, natural colour	20 kgs/carton
POWDER CASSIA	13.5% max	Oil content: 1.5%-4%		Reddish color	In PP, PE.

 

1. Finger cassia (Cigarette cassia)

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 0,5% max

Length: 8-20cm

Natural color, smooth touch

2. Whole cassia

Whole cassia usually has a length of 30-45cm, a thickness of 2mm -3mm. Cassia bark is the thickest of all types of cassia. Cinnamon bark is colored like a fungus, but it’s actually its natural color

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 1% max

Length: 30-40 cm

Thickness: 2.2 mm min

Natural color, no fungus (skin removes if required)

3. Square cut cassia 

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 1% max

Size: 2×2 cm

Thickness: 2.2mm min

4. Round cut cassia

The cinnamon sticks after being rolled will be cut into small pieces with a length of up to 2.5cm

Moisture: 13,5 % max

Admixture: 1% max

Oil content: 2-4%

Natural color

5. Split cassia

Split cassia is made by splitting cinnamon with a width of about 3cm then dried, processed with impurities, and packaged according to export standards.

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 1% max

Length: 25 – 45cm (80% min)

No fungus, yellow/reddish color

6. Pressed cassia

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 2% max

Length: 30 – 35 cm (80%min)

Natural color

7. Broken cassia

Moisture: 13,5% max

Admixture: 2 % max

No fungus, bright yellow color

8. Powder cassia

Powder cassia is generally made by broken cassia after grinding into powder.

Moisture: 13,5% max

Oil content: 1-3%

Color: featured brown/ yellow

The cassia growing regions in Vietnam

• Yen Bai Cassia region

This land has many advantages to develop the cultivation of forest cinnamon such as: the mountainous area is divided, the altitude is 300-700m. The average annual temperature is about 22.7 degrees Celsius, heavy rainfall and high humidity. In some places, the rainfall is up to 3000mm, the humidity is 84%.

Thanks to that, this place is the cinnamon growing region with the largest planting area and cinnamon bark output in the country. Particularly, the output in 4 districts of Van Yen, Van Chan, Van Ban, and Tran Yen can account for 70% of the whole Yen Bai cinnamon growing area.

• Yen Phong Thuong Xuan Cassia region

The average altitude here is about 300-700m, the annual average temperature is 23.1 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is over 2000mm/year with an average humidity of 85%. Because of such natural conditions, the cinnamon tree here grows very well. Cinnamon here has a high content of essential oil and is carefully exploited and processed. So that the product has a high reputation and high economic value.

•  Quang Ninh Cassia region

Here forest cinnamon trees are grown on 200-400m high belts. The average temperature is 23 degrees Celsius and the rainfall reaches 2300mm/year, helping the cinnamon trees grow healthy here. The cinnamon gardens here are not only a source of domestic products but also for foreign export. Here there are typical cinnamon growing areas such as Ha Coi, Hai Ninh, Dam Hoa, Tien Yeu, and Binh Lieu.

Vietnam has many different cassia-growing regions, so they have a variety of types. Therefore, our company – Vihaba would like to be the bridge between international customers and Vietnamese producers to bring the best quality cassia to the international market. 

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