class="MsoNormal">Pictured above is high-quality Rou Gui (Cinnamomi Cortex). Specifically known by trade names such as “Qing Hua Gui” or “An Nan Gui,” this type of Rou Gui comes from Vietnam so it is often called Vietnamese cinnamon. It is more expensive than the standard item that we use in Chinese medicine, but it is often sought out by practitioners seeking high-end, premium “dao di” herbal products. By contrast, the standard product comes from Guangxi, China, and is usually sold in long rolls or broken pieces; premium Vietnamese Rou Gui comes in a single curved, flat piece, which is broken up and powdered for use.

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To ascertain the quality of Rou Gui, a combination of visual clues and aroma is key. It is hard to learn about herbal quality from evaluating photographs or reading text, so the best way to really gain a feel for herbal quality discernment is to physically see a lot of real specimens. Herbs such as ginseng or cinnamon have “spirit,” and the same intangible sixth-sense inspection of the shen that we use when evaluating a patient is also essential when evaluating medicinals. When we look at a person we see them as a whole, we don’t simply measure their limb size and rate their complexion so much as we take in a global feeling that combines all their physical qualities and the general sense of animation and life that they are imbued with. The thing that makes the ultimate difference in herbal quality assessment is similarly a global feeling that combines all the naked senses together and incorporates that sixth-sense feeling (one of my beloved teachers recently used a similar analogy to talk about ginseng assessment, and I think he hit the nail on the head because that sixth-sense feeling really is essential).

Vietnamese cinnamon is cut differently than the standard Chinese product, and it is characteristic to see the Vietnamese pieces sold as a long, curved single piece, in contrast to a rolled tube of bark. The Vietnamese product has thick inner bark but thin outer bark, and usually the outer bark will be shaved off on the top and bottom of the specimen for the purposes of display. When using the product, one first shaves off any remaining outer bark before crushing and powdering the inner bark. To assess the quality, use a knife to cut the back of the bark to assess the fragrance properly.

Vietnamese cinnamon has an extremely powerful aroma and is absolutely heavenly. Unlike the standard rolled inner branch bark that we use as a spice, the trunk bark of cinnamon is primarily used in medicine and is a bit too potent and distinctive for the normal culinary applications of cinnamon. Good cinnamon is hard to find in the U.S. and it is often dramatically overpriced, so I am particularly excited to have this specimen here at the informal little herb museum that I’m slowly trying to build at my office. Come by for a visit if you are ever in the Boulder area, and I can show you around the collection!