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Ceylon Cinnamon Alba vs C5 Special grading: quill diameter calipers and foxing tolerances?

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N
Nimal Quills•945 rep

What exact mechanical thickness calipers and color uniformity tests separate pencil-thin Alba quills from commercial continental grades under SLSI standard SLS 81?

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5 Answers from travellers

✓Accepted Answer

Export certification under Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) standard SLS 81 enforces strict physical calipers for Pure Ceylon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum). Alba is the highest commercial grade: quills must measure under 6mm in outer diameter (pencil-thin), constructed by rolling paper-thin inner sub-cambium bark into multi-layered concentric cylinders without rough outer cork. Continental grade C5 Special allows diameters up to 10mm. Alba quills must have less than 1% "foxing" (reddish-brown surface blemishes) and moisture strictly below 14% to prevent mold.

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D
Dr Dayaratne Spices•1820 rep

Alba commands up to a 40% auction price premium over C5 and M4 grades, sought by gourmet European chocolatiers and premium spice blenders.

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N
Nimal Quills•945 rep

Cheap cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) cannot be rolled into multi-layered quills; it forms a single, thick, hollow bark cylinder containing liver-toxic coumarin.

18
D
Dr Senaka TRI•1840 rep

Quills are cut to standardized 42-inch lengths and packed into clean unbleached cotton bales stamped with the official government Lion Logo.

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C
Chef Ruwan Spice•1780 rep

Buy whole quills rather than pre-ground powder; whole quills retain their volatile cinnamaldehyde essential oils for over two years in airtight glass jars.

12
S
Sarah Field Scout•1720 rep

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