Thailand Sticky Rice 'Khao Hom' Oolong Tea

Tea type
Oolong Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Butter, Coconut, Cream, Custard, Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Mango, Mineral, Orchid, Pastries, Pineapple, Rice, Seaweed, Spinach, Sweet, Thick, Toasted Rice, Creamy, Rice Pudding, Flowers, Green
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec 6 g 6 oz / 165 ml

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21 Tasting Notes View all

From What-Cha

Has a creamy texture and sticky rice aroma, imparted unto the tea during processing by heating the sticky rice plant’s leaves along with the tea leaves.

Sticky rice scented tea is a speciality of northern Thailand, although traditionally green tea is used, Jin Xuan Oolong produces just as good if not better results.

Produced in Northern Thailand in what was once the hub of the ‘Golden Triangle’, the farmers in 1994 turned their back on opium production and switched to tea, importing a range of tea plants from Taiwan’s famed tea producing region Alishan.

Tasting Notes:

- Smooth texture

- Brilliant sticky rice aroma with a creamy taste

Harvest: April 2015

Altitude: 1,000m

Cultivar: TTES #12 Jin Xuan (Imported from Alishan, Taiwan in 1994), cross between Ying Zhi Hong Xin and TTES #8

Scent: Nuo Mi Xiang Nen Ye (sweet fragrance rice tender leaves) AKA sticky rice

Origin: Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

Sourced: From a specialist Thai wholesaler

Brewing Advice:

- Heat water to roughly 80°C/176°F

- Use 1 teaspoon per cup/small teapot

- Brew for 2 minutes

About What-Cha View company

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21 Tasting Notes

90
1048 tasting notes

I don’t think anyone can understand just how much I have been looking forward to reviewing this tea. One of my favorite desserts is sticky rice and custard, and my love of oolong teas is common knowledge. The idea of two things I adore seemingly combined was a dream come true. But would this tea stand up to my high expectations? Fortunately, it was excellent. I was not disappointed in the slightest.

I opted to prepare this tea gongfu style. After a flash rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by infusions of 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of custard and sticky rice. After the rinse, the aromas of custard and sticky rice grew stronger. They were joined by scents of cream and fresh flowers. The first infusion released some subtle scents of grass and spinach. In the mouth, the liquor was very light, though I still detected relatively clear notes of cream, butter, grass, custard, and sticky rice. Subsequent infusions better brought out these flavors. They were accompanied by delicate impressions of lilac, honeysuckle, orchid, coconut milk, minerals, mango, and pineapple, as well as hints of pastry and seaweed. The spinach notes finally emerged on the palate too. Later infusions offered lingering notes of minerals, sticky rice, and custard that were underscored by traces of butter, grass, and seaweed.

I know I have said it before, but I am normally not one to go for flavored/scented oolongs. I may be steadily softening on that stance, however, since I have recently discovered a number of these teas that I like. I can safely count this one among that number. This was an exceptionally enjoyable oolong with a great mix of aromas and flavors. If you are a fan of similar teas and/or sticky rice, you owe it to yourself to try this tea.

Flavors: Butter, Coconut, Cream, Custard, Floral, Grass, Honeysuckle, Mango, Mineral, Orchid, Pastries, Pineapple, Rice, Seaweed, Spinach

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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80
6444 tasting notes

GCTTB6

Thank you Ubacat for adding this to the box as it was one tasty tea. It reminded me of coconut rice I get from a restaurant called Spoon & Fork – creamy, sweet, buttery, and coconutty. Just delicious. Plus it smells like buttered popcorn. There was a bit of a disconnect between that flavor and the floral oolong base but nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed this tea. Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/05/28/thailand-sticky-rice-khao-hom-oolong-tea-from-what-cha/

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70
34 tasting notes

Quite interesting, but also very much something you have to be in the mood for.

Flavors: Rice

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95
13 tasting notes

This tea is great! The dry leaves have a strong aroma of sticky rice – mmm! We’re off to a good start! =D

I steeped 1tsp (2-3g?) in a cup at 80C for 2min, adding 30s for each subsequent steep. It tastes exactly like sticky rice! I was concerned that the aroma/taste would be overpowering, but it’s perfect for me. The tea is sweet and comforting. It would be perfect for the wintertime! Or really, any time!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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72
533 tasting notes

172F, 5gish, 150 ml gaiwan
It really tastes like sweet sticky rice. Tastes stays throughout multiple steeps. Definitely an interesting tea, but not really for me. Glad to have tried it.

Flavors: Sweet, Thick, Toasted Rice

Daylon R Thomas

I pretty much thought the same thing. Great once, but after, you realize that it tastes exactly like the soaking water for rice.

hawkband1

Really glad I only got the sample.

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27 tasting notes

Tea that is supposed to taste like sticky rice? Count me in!
And this tea did not disappoint! A strong sticky rice flavor, that continued to be there after several steeps.
I liked it so much that I put the spent leaves in a water bottle in the fridge overnight, resulting in guess what refreshing sticky rice flavored water!

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661 tasting notes

Well, I am working from home today and it’s a good time to try and review some samples I have. I had mixed feelings about trying this tea. I’ve had sticky rice raw pu-erh and found it too strong so I didn’t know what to expect with this one.

I brewed in a cup 2 min at 90C. First sniff. Whoa! Intense! Sticky rice aroma and taste was so strong. I can see why some might love it as it did go along good with the oolong but I’m pretty sensitive to strong aromas or flavours. I tried to get through the cup but I started getting a headache from the super sweet aroma and taste of sticky rice. There’s still more in the sample so if I am brave and decide to give this a second try, I could discard the first infusion and start from the 2nd one which may not be as strong. I don’t want to give this tea a bad review because it is what it is: sticky rice oolong. For those who love a strong sticky rice flavour , you will love this tea.

What-Cha

It does indeed have a very strong scent and taste of Sticky Rice which isn’t for everyone.

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95
14 tasting notes

Sticky rice? OH YES! I never imagined tasting sticky rice in a tea, bit Whatcha hot this one out of the park. Breathing in that awesome aroma right from the pouch as I opened it took me right to the sticky rice! It filled the air and when I poured hot water over it, GongFu style in my Gaiwan…WOW! Creamy creamy creamy! This may be one that I may purchase to have around for when want something different!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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91
1704 tasting notes

My first try of What-Cha from the group order, and “Sticky-Rice” is the prefect name, because that’s exactly what it tastes like. It is powerful for one tea spoon and after 2 minutes. Steep 2 was at 2 minutes and 25 seconds, and it was still just as strong as the first steep. Oddly enough, I picked up a pineapple note in the first one, maybe because of the power of suggestion and association. I used to eat sticky rice with pineapple and a little it of coconut oil when I lived in Hawaii, and this tea especially emulates that memory. The fact that the tea comes from Thailand is no surprise either-this is where I imagine being also.

I’m pretty impressed, though I’m not sure if I would drink this all the time. Make no mistake, this is a really delicious tea-the fact is that it tastes just like sticky rice and oddly, it acts as a strong appetite suppressant for me. I feel like I just drank a meal when I drink this tea. That could be a testament to quality’s greatness, but also a testament to its power. This is a deceptively light tea, but also very thick, moderately sweet, starchy, and creamy. I am so glad that I got to try this though….I was craving it.

Flavors: Coconut, Creamy, Pineapple, Rice, Rice Pudding, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 207 ML
keychange

Hmmm, I’m always fascinated when tea tastes like savoury food. Like, I would never be interested in a tea that purported to taste like a cheeseburger or nachos, but then again we tend to seek out dessert flavours all the time. I think that’s often been my issue with some of the more savoury teas, though: they feel too much like eating. Great note!

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921 tasting notes

I have played a lot of video games in my life, and I have been driven to fits of rage by many of them. Something that my dear fiance and I share is a tendency to get really ragey at our games, we just show them differently, where he is likely to just yell at a game, I take a page from the RageQuit book and get really imaginative with my vitriol. I bring this up because few games have made me rage as much as Terraria. Seriously, I hate the boss fights, I can have myself kitted up and buffed to the extreme and it never fails, I die at least half a dozen times before I get the ‘trick’ to killing a specific boss. Of course then I proceed to farm it mercilessly, giggling at my godlike power the whole time. Oh man, or that one time when you are mining and accidentally hit the TNT button instead of the pickaxe button and blow yourself up. It. Is. MADDENING! But I also love it because I can be a dark elf with a hoard of spider summons with a pet dinosaur who rides a unicorn while wearing feathery wings, gypsy robes, and a Spartan helmet. Skills.

Today’s tea from What-Cha is a funky little number, Thailand Sticky Rice ‘Khao Hom’ Oolong Tea, hailing from Thailand, this tea takes Jin Xuan and scents it with Nuo Mi Xiang Nen Ye, an herb from China whose leaves smell uncannily like sweet sticky rice. Used quite a bit with Puerh, (if you have ever seen sticky rice Puerh, this is the herb used) and I will be honest, mixed with Shou Pu, I find it utterly repugnant, usually because it is mixed with the really low grade fishy garbage and those are two things I do not want mixed. Ever. So I was really curious to try it in something else, specifically the glory that is Oolong. The aroma of this tea is something else, I advise not sticking your nose into these leaves, sniff from a distance because wow is it strong. Super sweet sticky rice notes with sweet cream, rice pudding, coconut milk, and an underlying almond nuttiness. So much sweetness, it is a little overwhelming.

So the first time I tried this tea I made the mistake of brewing it when I had a headache, one whiff of those brewed leaves and I needed to lie down, something about sticky rice scented teas make me feel really ill and dizzy if I have a headache (which is often) so I waited for a day when I had no headache to try the rest of the sample. It was a good idea because whoa, it is super strong, very sweet notes of rice pudding, caramel, flowers, green beans, grass, spinach…it is a bit of a cacophony, though oddly it blends well together. The liquid is more subtle thankfully, though not by much. That sticky rice scent is strong and sweet, notes of coconut milk, almonds, and rice pudding mix with a creamy underlying floral note.

I thought for a second, this could be one of those sensory overload things that happens to me with certain smells, so I got Ben to sniff it and he thought it smelled mild and sweet, where I thought it was like being face planted in pudding. The longer I sniffed it, the more I started developing a headache…oh dear. So, enough being nervous, I tasted it, it is smooth and sweet, and surprisingly cooling for an oolong. There are strong notes of cream, rice pudding, orchids, and warm milk. This moves on to caramelized sugar and a nutty aftertaste. There is however something ‘wrong’ about the rice taste, not wrong as in toxic or something like that…wrong as it tastes like rice but doesn’t. Like how stevia leaves are sweet but don’t taste like sugar, so when used as a substitute you can tell, it is uncanny and hard to process for some reason.

Second steep, the aroma at this point has permeated my tea area, which I am not entirely happy with. The taste is milder on the rice front, more of the underlying orchid and creamy notes of the Jin Xuan showing their color. The finish has a nutty rice note that lingers for some time. I called it quits after this steep sadly, the taste was quite pleasant, but the smell of the leaves was way too intense and killing my head, not to mention I spilled some on my tea table and just can’t get the smell out, whenever I get a whiff of it I am slammed with vertigo, it is safe to say that my sensory weirdness could not handle this herb. Clearly if I try to drink this tea again, I should do it with a nose plug, or maybe store the leaves in another room. It is a pity I had such a negative reaction to the aroma, the taste was really quite fascinating.

For blog and photos (and a link to a page entirely in Chinese about the fancy herb): http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/08/what-cha-thailand-sticky-rice-khao-hom.html

Flavors: Coconut, Flowers, Orchid, Rice, Rice Pudding, Sweet

Liquid Proust

Amanda, please delete this and repost it in September after I get paid… I didn’t even know a sticky rice oolong was out there and my will power is weak. must. click. purchase.

p.s. 100g for $14
That’s so cheap… but is their site in USD or not? It’s confusing me.

TeaNecromancer

but but but I don’t wanna write another blog tonight, I want to go game more :P

I know what you mean, I can’t tea shop until the first of the month and the new summer harvest teas came into What-Cha and there are some things I wanted to get with my last order that I want like right now sigh

Yeah that is what I am seeing, and I am signed into my account so it is showing USD. Holy crap that is cheap.

Liquid Proust

I’ll buy a lot and use some for swaps :)

Now time to upset you as I am upset that I don’t have this.
What Cha did have this: http://what-cha.com/out-of-stock/nepal-monsoon-flush-2014-pearl-oolong-tea/

Here’s the bad news, it’s not there no more :(

Liquid Proust

DAMNIT! You already had it :/

TeaNecromancer

That is so sad! That was such a beautiful tea, though the real tear jerker for me is this http://what-cha.com/out-of-stock/korea-jeong-jae-yeuns-hwangcha-balhyocha-tea/ it was a glorious tea, though last time I looked it was retired…seeing more might be on the way, I think I just might faint!

I still kick myself for not getting more of both of those teas.

Liquid Proust

Maybe when that weird ‘citrus’ oolong is in stock we can organize a group buy :)
I haven’t had any What Cha and just realized how much they have on their site… not sure why I haven’t heard more about them :/

Spencer

Sympathizing so hard with the Terraria boss fights…I wonder if Adagio has Terraria fandom blends…

TeaNecromancer

Fair warning, they are addictive. I am trying to try all of the teas…but Alistair keeps adding more!!

Oddly no! I looked a couple weeks ago and thought about starting a Terraria line to go with my Minecraft line. :P

Spencer

Please do…I will buy every. single. one.

TeaNecromancer

Hahaha! Will do! Any special monster requests for me to start with?

Spencer

Definitely the Guide, probably “wooden sword” (based on a pu’erh with something…sharp), “worm food” (another pu’erh), but definitely Eater of Worlds…though I have no idea of what it would be comprised.

TeaNecromancer

Ooh making things based off the different items used to summon the bosses could be a fun challenge.

mmmm worm food! I think this will be a fun project! I also decided that I am tempted to drag all my perler beads out and make perler versions of some of the banners, I have become a collector of them.

What-Cha

Wow, I woke up to a lot of comments!

Thanks for the review Amanda, the aroma in particular of the tea can be rather potent and I’m sorry it was causing you headaches :(

I’m happy to say I’ve ordered 300g of the 2015 Korea Jeong Jae Yeun’s Hwangcha Balhyocha Tea, so hopefully it should be back on sale in 1-2 months.

@Liquid Proust

All prices are in GBP (£9.20 for 100g of the Sticky Rice Oolong) but can be viewed in USD on the website (which now update hourly to reflect the market exchange rate). The order total is payable in GBP and so if you choose to pay in USD via Paypal you will get a worse than market rate.

If you would like to place an order at some point, I could send you a paypal invoice payable in USD, with prices converted from GBP to USD at market exchange rate.

The Monsoon Pearls may finally be coming back in stock shortly (1-3 weeks)! Unfortunately they’re a really rare tea where the total production per flush is less than 10kg, so there’s been a big queue among vendors to get more.

@ boychik

I believe the Hwangcha you have from pu-erh.sk to be a different tea, produced by Jukro Tea Company, one of the foremost Korean producers.

Balhyocha is a very confusing term and as I understand it, is best thought as to mean a tea which is not green (i.e partially or fully oxidised).

Hwangcha is a subcategory of Balhyocha, it confusingly translates as yellow tea, but it is nothing like Chinese yellow tea in production, taste or oxidisation level. As I understand it, tea with an oxidisation level between 18-85% falls within the Hwangcha sub-category. These teas are perhaps best thought of as oolongs.

Tea with an oxidisation level above 85% are perhaps best thought of as black teas (they are still Balhyocha but not Hwangcha).

TeaNecromancer

Oh my, well, I plan on placing an order in a week, which excited me immensely. Now, when the Balhyocha comes back…possibly near my birthday…I foresee myself buying a massive pile of it. It is one of the few teas that I go all protective dragon on and don’t want to share, something about it is just magical and makes me happy.

Out of curiosity, and I understand if it is hush-hush, are you planning anything for Black Friday? I am getting my ducks in a row as to what I am doing for sales since Black Friday is right after my birthday and I tend to have happy shopping (fun fact, last year I bought a stuffed Minecraft spider)

As for the sticky rice, I am sad my brain didn’t seem to handle it, it makes me sad because it is so unique! And it doubly makes me sad because I didn’t dislike it, if it had been something I thought tasted awful then it would have just been me not liking it…this just seems mean spirited. Bad brain!! If it makes you feel any better, this is not the first time this has happened, strong smells are one of my migraine triggers and they seem totally random…like I can’t be in the house if anyone is cooking with Old Bay Seasoning or roasting grains for granola…but I can eat both of them just find. Just another one of those ‘the body is weird’ moments.

What-Cha

I can’t wait to have the Balhyocha back in stock along with some other interesting teas from Korea, including my first direct sourced Korean tea! I certainly understand your desire to purchase a massive pile of it, I only got to try a few grams last year before I had sold out!

To be honest, I haven’t even thought about Black Friday yet, but I’ll definitely try and put together some kind of special sale, probably a percentage off all teas coupon unless I can think of anything more creative.

I probably shouldn’t say this [but I do like to tease ;)] but I have some very big plans for October, including what will probably be a number of tea firsts for English speaking countries (including a Republic whose tea has never been sold in the West and almost never mentioned!).

Not to worry about the sticky rice oolong, we all have aromas and tastes which we react badly too. On the positive side, there may be a couple of interesting scented Vietnamese green teas appearing shortly, one scented with Citrus Maxima and the other with Chrysanthemum Morifolium.

Nicole

Gurl…. lemme know if you need a local to tag onto that order. I have an imaginary shopping cart all full… :)

TeaNecromancer

Hahaha! Will do!!

Well, I know where I will be spending my birthday money :P And a Republic you say, hmm, time to pull out my list of tea countries and see if I can guess which is it. I need to get back to work on that research project, I have been slacking lately (the shame!)

Seriously though, I got so excited reading this!!

Liquid Proust

If Amanda will allow me I can put together a group order :)

TeaNecromancer

Hmm, if you guys want to do a group order be my guest, currently my planned order is like close to $60 :P so I do not need to get in for free shipping and honestly find the whole group order thing immensely confusing…probably because I agonize and waffle over my order for WEEKS

Plus I am shy and bad at these kinds of things

Liquid Proust

I’ll PM you :)

TeaNecromancer

Okie Dokie!

Nicole

Let me know, LP. I’m sure I can get to free shipping on my own as well, but I shouldn’t get to free shipping on my own. :)

What-Cha

The ‘republic’ is a federal subject rather than a country, so it might be difficult to find listed, especially so as of 2013, there was only 6 hectares used for tea!

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