Where to buy authentic spices in Pettah without getting scammed.

If the cinnamon bark is thick, hard, and dark red, it is likely cheap Cassia bark imported from overseas, not true Sri Lankan cinnamon. Always smell the spices deeply before negotiating a price per hundred grams.

Avoid buying neatly packaged, expensive spices from the tourist oriented shops near the main fort entrance. In Pettah, you want to buy from the massive, open sacks. Genuine Ceylon cinnamon should be light brown, incredibly thin, and easily crumbled with your fingers like paper.