The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of specific hydration reaction on the stiffening process of cement paste. The cement compositions are manipulated to cause specific hydration reactions (secondary gypsum and syngenite formation) responsible for false set, and the relationship between specific hydration reactions and the flow and stiffening behavior of cement paste were investigated using modified ASTM C 403 penetration resistance measurement and oscillatory shear rheology. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was used for the phase identification associated with premature stiffening of cement paste. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used for verification of syngenite formation. From the results, both secondary gypsum and syngenite formation caused faster stiffening and set. The amount of syngenite produced during 1 hour hydration was approximately 1 % of total mass of the cement paste, but cement paste with syngenite formation showed significantly accelerated stiffening behavior compared to normal cement paste.