True cinnamon

    It was maybe a year ago when I found out about true (or Ceylon) cinnamon. Apparently, the rest of the world calls the spice that we North Americans call cinnamon something else, specifically cassia. What the rest of the world calls cinnamon is called Ceylon cinnamon here, but it's next to impossible to find. The tip was to go to Indian markets. For some reason, this town has a goodly number of Indian markets (five or more), but none of them carried true cinnamon. However, Whole Foods has come to town, and they had it. Ground, mind you, but still.
    I'm trying so hard to like it. In desserty-type stuff, it's OK I guess, adding some degree of sweetness. Mainly, it reminds me of Cashmere Bouquet soap. This may not be a useful reference for the under 50s; although Google indicates that Cashmere Bouquet is still being sold (and apparently has been since 1872!), I'm not sure anybody uses it since they stopped putting it in mid-grade motel bathrooms some time in the '80s. Regardless, there's a certain cloying quality that I don't care for, a slight sharpness that's less interesting and somehow less pleasant than cassia, and the sweetness is more annoying than delightful. But then, I hardly ever like new things and then usually go full 180 on them, so within days or weeks, I'll probably think true cinnamon is my favorite thing ever. So this is just to warn you: if you ever try true cinnamon, you probably won't like it at first. Tip: better with vanilla, though.

Edit: I should note that it reminds me of the scent of Cashmere Bouquet. I don't think I ever ate any, though since I shaved with it in the shaving mug (this being a brush-and-mug family by and large) some may have worked its way into my mouth from time to time.