Dalchini Ka Pani (Cinnamon Water): Cold Soak, Boil, Cassia Limit
Start with the warning, because it’s the useful part: most dalchini sold loose in Pakistani and Indian bazaars is cassia, and cassia is rich in coumarin, a natural compound that can strain the liver in large, daily amounts. So dalchini ka pani (cinnamon water) is fine as a lightly spiced drink made with one small stick per jug, and not a good idea as a strong, daily “remedy”. Here’s how to make it cold or simmered, how to tell which bark you have, and who should skip it.
In brief
- Kitchen amount: one small stick (5 to 7 cm) per 1 litre jug.
- Cold soak: 8 to 12 hours in the fridge. Mild and sweet-smelling.
- Simmered: 10 minutes. Stronger, and it pulls out more coumarin.
- Re-use: a cold-soaked stick once more, then throw it away.
- What it is: a zero-sugar flavoured water, not a sugar or weight medicine.
Prefer to listen? This post as a 2 min video · Video page with transcript
What dalchini ka pani is, and isn’t
It’s water that has sat with a piece of cinnamon bark until it smells warm and faintly sweet, with no sugar and almost no calories, and on a hot afternoon, poured cold from the fridge into a steel glass, it’s genuinely nice. That’s it.
What it isn’t is a drink that lowers blood sugar, melts weight or cleans anything out, whatever the reels promise, because there’s no good evidence that a glass of cinnamon water does any of those things in real people eating real meals. Its honest benefit? It can replace a sugary drink. That swap matters more than the spice. We looked at the weight-loss side of this in our piece on dalchini chai and green tea, and the verdict holds for the cold version too.
Looking for hot dalchini tea or qehwa? Different drink.
The cassia problem, in plain words
There are two barks sold as dalchini. Ceylon cinnamon (“true” cinnamon) is thin and papery, rolled into soft, many-layered, pale tan quills that crumble in your fingers, whereas cassia is a thick, hard, single curl of reddish-brown bark you’d struggle to snap, and it’s cassia that fills the cheap loose sacks in most shops and much of the powder too. Check yours.
Cassia contains far more coumarin than Ceylon. Coumarin gives the sweet, hay-like smell, and in large amounts taken day after day it can harm the liver in sensitive people. European food-safety bodies set a tolerable daily intake for it based on body weight, and a heaped spoon of cassia powder can go past that for a small adult on its own. Sticks in water release less. How much less? Nobody can tell you for your particular stick.
That’s why the rule here is small and occasional: one short stick per jug, not three sticks per mug, and not the same strong brew every day for months. How to tell your bark apart, with pictures in words, is in our guide to Ceylon vs cassia dalchini.
Snap test
Try to break your stick in half: Ceylon crumbles into flaky layers, while cassia resists, then cracks like a thin piece of wood. Cassia? Keep it mild.
How to make cinnamon water: cold soak or boil
Cold soak (the gentler way)
- Rinse one small dalchini stick, 5 to 7 cm long, under running water.
- Drop it into a clean 1 litre jug or bottle of drinking water, cover it, and put it in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours.
- Pour and drink through the day. Finish the jug within 24 hours.
- Top up once with fresh water for a second, lighter jug, then throw the stick away.
It tastes softer than you’d expect, more scent than bite, and it takes well to a few slices of apple, a strip of lemon peel or two crushed green elaichi dropped in at the start.
Simmered (stronger)
- Put one 5 cm stick in 500 ml of water in a small pan.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 10 minutes until the water turns amber, take out the stick, let it cool, and dilute with another 500 ml of cold water.
- Keep in the fridge and drink within a day. Don’t simmer the same stick twice.
Heat pulls out more of everything, flavour and coumarin both, which is why the simmered version gets diluted. Cold soaking is kinder.
Why not powder?
Powder in water doesn’t dissolve; it sits at the bottom as a gritty brown sludge, it’s far too easy to overdo with a spoon, and most shop powders are cassia anyway. Keep it for cooking.
Surprising cinnamon facts
Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tree. Farmers cut young shoots, peel away the rough outer bark, and the thin inner layer curls up by itself as it dries in the sun, which is all a quill really is.
The smell that makes cinnamon taste “sweet” comes mainly from cinnamaldehyde, and the same compound is what makes some people’s mouths sore after cinnamon gum or strong cinnamon drinks.
And the name game: in much of South Asia, “dalchini” covers both barks, while in many other countries shops label cassia simply as cinnamon.
Unani physicians class dalchini as hot and dry, and used it in small amounts in winter preparations and after heavy meals. Ayurveda (as tvak) counts it warming and uses it as a pinch among many spices, never as a litre of strong infusion. Both used it sparingly. So should we.
Can we drink cinnamon water daily? Who should skip it
For a healthy adult, a jug made with one small stick, some days of the week, is a reasonable kitchen habit. Daily, strong and simmered from cassia for months isn’t. And some people should skip it or ask first.
Liver disease or blood thinners
If you have fatty liver, hepatitis or any liver condition, or you take medicines that are hard on the liver, stay with food amounts of cinnamon in cooking; our guide to fatty liver and desi food covers what actually helps. People on blood thinners such as warfarin should ask their doctor before any daily herbal drink; coumarin isn’t the same as the medicine, but a daily habit that affects the liver is worth a conversation.
Diabetes
Cinnamon water won’t replace diabetes medicine. The “cinnamon water for diabetic patients” videos oversell it badly. If you drink it, drink it plain, keep taking your medicines exactly as prescribed, and tell your doctor if your readings change for any reason, up or down, since it’s the pattern over weeks that matters rather than one good morning.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children
Cinnamon in cooking is fine. Daily cinnamon water isn’t a pregnancy drink, and children don’t need it at all.
You have liver disease, take blood thinners or several regular medicines, are pregnant, or are giving it to a child: skip the daily habit and ask your doctor or pharmacist. Mouth soreness, a burning tongue, a rash, heartburn or tummy upset? Stop. Yellow eyes or skin, dark urine, pale stools or pain under the right ribs need a doctor promptly, whatever you’ve been drinking. Never swap a prescribed medicine for cinnamon water, and never stop one because your readings look better. Cinnamon capsules are a separate matter, much stronger than a jug of water; don’t start them without asking your doctor.
Cinnamon water questions, answered
What are the benefits of drinking dalchini water?
It’s a pleasant, sugar-free, almost calorie-free drink that can replace sweet ones. That swap is the real benefit.
Can we drink cinnamon water daily?
A mild jug made with one small stick is fine some days of the week for most healthy adults, but strong, simmered cinnamon water every single day for months isn’t wise, especially when the stick is cassia, which is what most bazaar dalchini turns out to be.
How do I make cinnamon water?
Put one 5 to 7 cm stick in a 1 litre jug of drinking water and leave it in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Drink it within a day.
Is cinnamon water good on an empty stomach?
No special benefit. Some people get heartburn from it first thing.
Does cinnamon water help weight loss?
Only as a swap. The spice itself doesn’t cause weight loss, but if a jug of it replaces a sugary cold drink or two cups of sweet chai each day, you save those calories, and over months that kind of swap is what actually shows on the scale.
Is cinnamon water good for diabetic patients?
It’s a fine sugar-free drink, but it isn’t a treatment. Keep your medicines exactly as prescribed.
Can I re-use a cinnamon stick?
A cold-soaked stick can make one more, lighter jug. Then throw it away. Don’t re-use a simmered stick, and bin any stick that looks slimy or mouldy.
Which dalchini is best for cinnamon water?
Ceylon, if you can find it. It has far less coumarin.
Is cinnamon water safe in pregnancy?
Cinnamon in cooking is fine. A daily cinnamon water habit isn’t recommended in pregnancy; ask your doctor if you want to drink it.
Can I drink cinnamon water at night?
Yes. It has no caffeine, so it won’t keep you awake, though it can bring on heartburn if you lie down soon after.
Cinnamon and lemon water: is it better?
It tastes brighter, and that’s the difference. Lemon adds a little vitamin C and acidity, which some people find harsh on teeth or reflux. Rinse your mouth with plain water after.
What are the side effects of cinnamon water?
Mouth soreness, heartburn and, rarely, allergy. With cassia in large daily amounts, coumarin can affect the liver in sensitive people.
Can I add honey to cinnamon water?
You can, but it turns a sugar-free drink into a sweet one, so count it. Never give honey to a baby under 1 year.
How long does cinnamon water last?
Up to 24 hours in the fridge.
More spice-water guides live in Desi Remedies.