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Cinnamon Basil vs. Thai Basil: Two Sweet Basils, Two Different Scents

By · Reviewed · 16 sources

Cinnamon Basil vs Thai Basil

Cinnamon basil smells warm and spicy; Thai basil smells of anise and lime. That smell is the real difference, because they aren’t two species. Both are forms of sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum, and Kew even treats the old Thai basil name Ocimum thyrsiflorum as a synonym of ordinary sweet basil.12 What sets them apart is the oil: methyl cinnamate made up 30% of it in the one analysis of the ‘Cinnamon’ cultivar we found,1 while Thai basil’s oil was led by estragole in a Thai study.3 Thai basil, horapha in Thai, is a staple of Thai cooking, and cinnamon basil is mostly a garden basil that suits teas, baked goods and desserts.

Side by side

Cinnamon basilThai basil
Botanical nameOcimum basilicum, cultivar ‘Cinnamon’1Ocimum basilicum; often labeled var. thyrsiflora, a name Kew does not keep separate42
FamilyLamiaceae (mint family)Lamiaceae (mint family)
Native range of the speciesTropical and subtropical Asia to northern AustraliaTropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia
Thai nameNo source foundHorapha
LookGreen leaves, purple stems, pink flowers on purple spikes, in one US trial1Often purple-stemmed
Leading oil compoundsLinalool 47%, methyl cinnamate 30% (one US trial, share of oil)1Estragole 452.80 µg/mL, geranial 180.57 µg/mL, neral 151.16 µg/mL (one Thai study, concentration)3
Aroma, as the sources describe itSpicy, leaving a warm feeling on the tongue5Anise, lime-like and fresh3
FlavorSweet basil with the anise turned down and a warm, cinnamon-like edgeStrong anise and licorice with a peppery bite
Typical usesTeas, baked goods and dessertsStirred into Thai curries right before serving; raw on the pho herb plate
EstragoleNot among the major compounds reported in the one trial1The leading compound in the Thai study3
FormsMostly grown from seed or bought as plantsFresh bunches at Asian groceries

The two chemistry rows come from different studies, of different plants, in different units. The Purdue trial gives each compound as a share of the oil; the Thai study gives a concentration in µg/mL. They tell you which compounds lead in each basil, not how much stronger one is. For the individual herbs, see cinnamon basil and Thai basil.

Where the cinnamon comes from

The Herb Society of America names trans-methyl cinnamate as the compound behind basil’s cinnamon scent.5 PROSEA notes that some selections of sweet basil are rich in methyl cinnamate,6 and the Purdue paper records commercial production of methyl cinnamate-rich basil in Bulgaria. In the Purdue trial, ‘Cinnamon’ still had linalool as its biggest single compound, at 47%; the Genovese basil in the same trial was 77% linalool.1 So cinnamon basil comes across as sweet basil with an extra spicy layer, not as cinnamon.

The cinnamon resemblance is just that. True cinnamon bark oil is dominated by a different compound, cinnamaldehyde, at 50 to 75% of Ceylon cinnamon bark oil according to PROSEA.7

Where Thai basil’s anise comes from

In the 2018 Chiang Mai study of five basils used as food in Thailand, Thai basil oil was led by estragole (methyl chavicol), followed by geranial and neral, and the authors linked it to anise, lime-like and fresh aromas.3 You’ll often see Thai basil described as having a strong camphor note too. Camphor isn’t among the main compounds in that study.

Which “Thai basil”?

Three different basils are sold under Thai names, and cinnamon basil is sometimes said to be one of them.

  • Horapha is Thai basil, the anise-scented form of sweet basil on this page.
  • Kaphrao is holy basil, a different species, Ocimum tenuiflorum. Andy Ricker describes it as “holy or hot basil,” with a peppery flavor, and warns that “holy basil” labels sometimes end up on purple-stemmed Thai or sweet basil.8 See Thai basil vs. holy basil.
  • Maenglak is the Thai name PROSEA gives for Ocimum americanum, hoary basil, which is often sold as lemon basil.9 See lemon basil.

There’s a claim going around that cinnamon basil itself is called Thai basil, or bai maengluk, in Thailand. We found no source for either, and PROSEA attaches maenglak to a different species.9 We also found no source placing cinnamon basil in Thai cooking.

In the kitchen

Thai basil goes in at the end. Sherri Pengjad of Thai Foodie says it gets stirred into green curry right before serving for its licorice-like aroma, and that it’s sturdier than Italian basil and holds up much better in hot dishes.10 That’s one cook’s take; we found no test of it. In Vietnamese cooking it goes raw onto the pho herb plate. Andrea Nguyen adds Thai basil to hers in the warmer months when it’s at its peak.11 Sweet basil is an important ingredient of Thai cuisine.

Cinnamon basil suits sweet uses. The Herb Society of America calls the ‘Cinnamon’ cultivar good in teas and baked goods and suggests cinnamon basil in desserts. Its basil syrup steeps 8 to 10 sprigs of anise, cinnamon, green or lemon basil.5 Fruit salads, stone fruit and tomato dishes are other natural homes.

Heat. LSU AgCenter groups basil with the delicate herbs best added in the last minute or two of cooking.12 None of our sources tests either cinnamon basil or Thai basil under long cooking, so the safe move for both is to add them late. See cooking with cinnamon basil.

Safety

Estragole, the compound that leads Thai basil’s oil in the Thai study,3 is one food regulators have assessed. The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food concluded in 2001 that estragole is genotoxic and carcinogenic in animal studies, and that it couldn’t set a safe exposure limit.13 Estragole wasn’t among the major compounds the Purdue trial reported for ‘Cinnamon’,1 but that’s a single analysis of one seed source. Our basil profile covers the estragole evidence in more detail.

Can one stand in for the other?

They’re the same species, so either one works as a basil. What changes is the top note.

SwapTreatmentStarting amountWhat to expect
Cinnamon basil in place of Thai basilMethodSame amountA warm, spicy basil without Thai basil’s anise. For the related swap of Italian basil for Thai basil, Pailin Chongchitnant’s pad kra pao recipe uses holy, regular or Thai basil in the same 1 1/4 cups (Attributed).14 Pengjad also calls Italian basil the best substitute.10 Neither names cinnamon basil.
Thai basil in place of cinnamon basilMethodSame amountAn anise-led result instead of a cinnamon-like one. In teas and desserts this changes the character of the dish. Sweet basil with a small pinch of ground cinnamon is closer (Method, untested).

For more options, see Thai basil substitutes, which ranks Italian basil, holy basil, mint and anise-scented herbs by the job Thai basil is doing.

What isn’t known

  • We found only one composition analysis of the ‘Cinnamon’ cultivar (Purdue, 1999), and only one of Thai basil (Tangpao et al., 2018). Basil oils vary by seed source and growing conditions.
  • No study analyzes the two basils side by side.
  • We didn’t find anyone who’s tested how either basil holds up to long cooking.
  • No source documents where or when either type was selected, or any use of cinnamon basil in Thai cooking.
  • You’ll sometimes read that the two are nutritionally similar. We found no nutrient analysis of either cultivar.

Footnotes

  1. “Comparative evaluation of North American commercially available Ocimum basil cultivars”, Table 1, Perspectives on New Crops and New Uses (1999), Purdue NewCROP. hort.purdue.edu · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. Ocimum thyrsiflorum L. (synonym of O. basilicum var. basilicum), Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  3. Tangpao, Chung and Sommano, “Aromatic Profiles of Essential Oils from Five Commonly Used Thai Basils”, Foods, 2018. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. “Basil”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2026. britannica.com · Reference work ↩

  5. Michele Meyers, Basil: An Herb Society of America Guide, The Herb Society of America, 2003. herbsociety.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. N.O. Aguilar, Pham Truong Thi Tho and L.P.A. Oyen, Ocimum basilicum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

  7. Cinnamomum verum, PROSEA Handbook No. 13: Spices. prosea.prota4u.org · Reference work ↩

  8. Andy Ricker with J.J. Goode, “Stir-fried chicken with hot basil”, from Pok Pok, via The Splendid Table. splendidtable.org · Publication ↩

  9. A.T. Sunarto, Ocimum americanum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  10. Sherri Pengjad, “Thai Basil: What It Is and How to Use It”, Thai Foodie, 2026. thai-foodie.com · Publication ↩ ↩2

  11. Andrea Nguyen, “Pho Garnish Plate”, from The Pho Cookbook, via The Splendid Table, 2017. splendidtable.org · Publication ↩

  12. “Flavorful Herbs”, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩

  13. Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on Estragole, European Commission, 2001. food.ec.europa.eu · Regulator ↩

  14. Pailin Chongchitnant, pad kra pao beef recipe, Hot Thai Kitchen. hot-thai-kitchen.com · Publication ↩

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