How to Grate Cinnamon Sticks

True cinnamon originates from the inner bark of tropical evergreen trees native to Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar. Its processing is labor intensive -- the bark must be peeled away in thin layers by hand and dried naturally. Grating cinnamon, however, is not labor-intensive; a box grater renders the quills into manageable pieces, and it is then ground further using a spice grinder or a superfine plane grater. Hand-ground cinnamon is exponentially more potent and pungent than market-form ground cinnamon.