Sustainability at Heart
From Bark to Buzz: How Sri Lanka Grows the World’s Best Cinnamon
You might sip Cinna Buzz for its smooth spice and refreshing zing, but long before it ends up in a can, that cinnamon was hand-harvested from the hills, coasts, and villages of Sri Lanka. And we’re not talking mass agriculture or mega machinery here—this is artisanal farming at its most ancient and most skilled.
Where Cinnamon Grows
True cinnamon, (you know, the royal kind), thrives best in the southwest of Sri Lanka, especially in districts like Matara, Galle, and Hambantota, where the climate is warm, humid, and kissed by the monsoon.
Cinnamon trees love rich, well-drained soils and elevations up to about 500 meters. They’re grown as bushes or low trees and harvested when they’re around two to three years old—just when they hit their sweet, spicy prime.
The Ancient Art of Peeling Cinnamon
Here’s the thing about cinnamon: anyone can grow the tree, but only a few can peel it like a pro.
Cinnamon harvesting is a skill passed down for generations. Once the branches are cut, the outer bark is scraped off, and the inner bark—the golden stuff we’re all here for—is carefully loosened and coaxed off in long curls. These are then nested inside one another and sun-dried into the iconic “quills” you see in spice jars and fancy cafés.
It takes years to master this craft, and it’s still done entirely by hand. There’s even a special job title for the peelers: “cinnamon chiselers”. Yes, it's a real thing, and yes, they deserve their own documentary.
The People Behind the Spice
Sri Lanka’s cinnamon industry is powered by smallholder farmers and skilled artisans, many of whom operate on family-run estates. It’s tough work—outdoors in tropical heat, during short seasonal windows, with labor-intensive harvesting techniques.
And yet, the average cinnamon farmer doesn’t always see fair returns. Middlemen, export brokers, and big-brand supply chains often gobble up the profits, leaving the actual growers with the crumbs. That’s not just unfair—it’s unsustainable.
How Cinna Buzz Does It Differently
At Cinna Buzz, we believe the best cinnamon deserves the best treatment—from soil to sip.
That’s why we source our cinnamon directly from smallholders in the southern regions of Sri Lanka. No middlemen. No shady markups. We partner with farmer cooperatives and community networks to ensure the maximum price goes straight to the people who grow and peel it.
This means better wages, better working conditions, and a future where the cinnamon industry isn’t just surviving, but thriving—for everyone involved.
And for you? It means each refreshing can of Cinna Buzz is made with the purest, freshest Ceylon cinnamon on the planet, harvested with love, skill, and centuries of tradition.
So Next Time You Crack Open a Cinna Buzz...
...take a moment to appreciate what you’re really drinking:
Sunlight from Sri Lanka.
Craft from the hands of masters.
And the kind of cinnamon that could never, ever come from a factory.
Sunlight from Sri Lanka.
Craft from the hands of masters.
And the kind of cinnamon that could never, ever come from a factory.