When you’ve come across cinnamon in the supermarket or your spice rack, have you ever stopped to wonder where the spice comes from? Believe it or not, it is actually the inner bark of a tree!

While in Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to see Cinnamon stripped from trees. Cinnamon is actually very difficult to grow. The tree must grow for two years after which it is cut down. The next year, after shoots begin to appear, they are stripped of their inner bark. That bark is dried out and the result it Cinnamon.

There are actually two different types of cinnamon trees — Cinnamon or Cinnamomum. Real Cinnamon purest will only accept Cinnamon from the Cinnamomum tree, and after tasting it I can see why! The flavor is completely different. Most Cinnamon found in a grocery store is probably the inferior cinnamon. If you’ve never tried the real Cinnamomum I highly recommend it! You will know right away which one you’re trying because real Cinnamomum does not curl up the way conventional Cinnamon does.