You might not think that buying rice online makes any sense, but I’ve been able to find some great farmers and heirloom makers that sell their rice for really reasonable prices. Since you are buying direct you can save money while benefiting the people who actually make the product possible.
Here are some great places where you can buy great rice online.
Chico Rice
One option I highly recommend for buying rice online is the California-based Chico Rice. I’ve done multiple ordered from them and have been quite happy with the results.
This is farmer grown organic rice from California, and I can tell you from (lots and lots of) experience, it taste great. It has a really clean, fresh flavor that supermarket rice is always missing. It’s closer to a produce product than a dried good than any other rice I’ve eaten.
Chico sells blonde and brown rice. The blonde is basically a white rice of the Japonica variety. It has more flavor than a typical white rice, but isn’t quite as light and fluffy as a super light jasmine rice. The brown rice is also a Japonica and has more of a nutty flavor. It’s heavier, more filling, and will keep longer than the blonde.
I’ve purchased both and would recommend the brown rice — it’s a more exception brown rice than the blonde is a white rice.
Chico sells rice in subscriptions bags, 30 oz bags, and 20 pound boxes. I’ve only bought it in the 20 pound boxes. The shipping is via USPS. And you just get a big, plastic bag of rice in a priority shipping box. Very effective, but not particularly elegant.
Anson Mills
Anson Mills is a sort of a heritage grain mill based in South Carolina. They are closely associated with the high-end “New Southern” cooking as well as top chefs, like Sean Brock (who is well known for appearing on Netflix’s Chef’s Table as well as his restaurant Husk).
Anson Mills sells all manner of heritage grains, as well as excellent Sea Island red peas, but they are best known for their Carolina Gold rice. This is a wonderful, fresh, brown rice with lots of flavor and that is versatile enough to work in any dish from a sticky Asian rice to a slow cooked pilau to a simple rice and beans.
There is also there Charleston Gold Rice, a high-end rice that has been aged with red bay laurel leaves for 3 years. The result is a fantastic rice with more interesting flavor and integrity of taste than you’d expect from any grain dish.
Ordering from Anson Mills is simple but it can get expensive quickly because their shipping really adds up. The rice, beans, flours, and other products are heritage and grown with care, and are priced accordingly so this is a high-end shop that sells really, nice stuff.
Koda Farms
I love the idea of buying direct from the farmer or mill, but it’s not always practical. If you want an easier way to get high-end rice online than look for Koda Farms. Koda sells both certified organic and conventional rice, all grown on the oldest rice farm in California. They have a full range of products, some of which are good, but other are exceptional given that this is a relatively easy-to-find brand.
Koda is best known for their Kokuho Rose short grain Japanese rice, but I prefer what you see above, the Certified organic whole grain Brown Kokuho Rose. (Koda’s Blue Star Mochiko sweet rice flour is a favorite as well.)
This rice is excellent for packaged rice, but doesn’t really compete with Anson Mills or Chico. On the other hand, Koda Farm’s rice can be purchased easily online and an be at your house in days or even hours. It might even be sold at your local grocer, which isn’t something that’s randomly going to happen with a small California farmer’s rice any time soon.
Closing Thoughts
This list isn’t as long as I would have liked, but please bookmark it and check back as more companies will be added as they meet our criteria for a really, really, nice rice.