Téngchōng wūlóngchá

Téngchōng wūlóngchá (腾冲乌龙茶) is an oolong of the county-level city of Tengchong (腾冲市) in the prefecture-level city of Baoshan in western Yunnan Province, on the border with Myanmar. Yunnan is known above all for pu-erh and red tea; oolong in Tengchong, according to popular publications, is made in mountain gardens from a Taiwanese cultivar, on volcanic soils. The name is one of five geographical marks that Tengchong, according to local authorities, registered in 2016 for five classes of tea at once. The mark’s reference summary describes two types of this oolong — “清香型” with a light aroma and “浓香型” with a rich one.

1. Classification and Origin

Type: Oolong (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá; another name for the class is 青茶, qīngchá), a semi-oxidized tea. The class is stated in the name, and the mark’s description speaks of “砂绿” — a “sandy green” color of the dry leaf, typical of rolled oolongs.
Category: Yunnan mountain oolong; a geographical mark from the “腾冲茶” series.
Origin: China, Yunnan Province (云南, Yúnnán), Baoshan prefecture-level city (保山, Bǎoshān), Tengchong county-level city (腾冲, Téngchōng).
Mark zone: The reference geographical indication database gives the wording “腾冲县腾越镇、固东镇、滇滩镇等乡镇” — the towns of Tengyue, Gudong, Diantan “and others” within Tengchong. I have not seen a full list. In the wording, Tengchong is still called a county (县), not a county-level city (市).
Geographic coordinates: About 25.0° N and 98.5° E.

2. History and Cultural Significance

History:
- The beginnings of oolong in Tengchong. According to a 2021 popular publication, the Qingxin Wulong cultivar (青心乌龙, “软枝”) was brought from Taiwan in 2004 and planted in the mountains of Mingguang Town (明光镇), and from 2005 it began to be spread. The source is promotional, and I consider these dates unconfirmed.
- 2016 — five marks at once. According to a report by the Tengchong government (the page currently does not open), in 2016 the county registered five marks: 腾冲绿茶, 腾冲红茶, 腾冲乌龙茶, 腾冲黑茶 and 腾冲白茶. The reference database gives the mark number 17259261 for “腾冲乌龙茶”; I did not find the mark’s holder.
- 2019. The mark was entered in the list of geographical trademarks of Yunnan compiled by the provincial Intellectual Property Administration as of December 28, 2019 (row 65, next to the other four marks of the series). The list gives only the prefecture and the county.
Name: 腾冲 (Téngchōng) is the name of the county-level city; 乌龙茶 (wūlóngchá) is oolong.
Cultural significance: The county develops “腾冲茶” as one of its six industry clusters. The oolong garden near the city has also become a place for tourists: according to a description by the Tengchong government (2025), the “极边高山乌龙茶景区” is a national 2A-grade scenic area; a 2018 publication wrote that in 2015 it was given the AAA grade. I have not resolved the discrepancy.

3. Botanical Description and Raw Material

Variety / Cultivar: I have not seen the mark’s requirements for the cultivar. A 2021 popular publication names the Taiwanese cultivar Qingxin Wulong (青心乌龙), also known as “软枝乌龙” — “soft-branch oolong”; I did not find confirmation in official sources.
Raw material: Leaf from Tengchong gardens. I have not seen requirements for the raw material; the reference description applies “肥壮” — “fleshy, sturdy” — to the already dried tea.
Harvest standard and time: No data were found in the sources consulted.

4. Terroir and Cultivation Features

Region: The west of Baoshan prefecture. According to the Tengchong government, the county borders Longyang District to the east, Longling and Lianghe counties to the south, and Yingjiang County and Myanmar to the west; its area is 5,845 km², and the state border is 150 km long.
Gardens: According to a description by the Tengchong government (2025), the oolong scenic area lies 14 km from the city, next to the national volcano and geothermal scenic area; it has more than 3,000 mu of continuous gardens (1 mu is about 667 m²), of which more than 800 mu are in full bearing, and elsewhere on the same page there is mention of views over 3,500 mu of gardens. A 2018 publication places the garden in Xinghua Village of Mazhan Township (马站乡兴华村) and also gives more than 3,500 mu.
Mixed plantings: Oil camellia (红花油茶), sakura and other trees grow between the tea bushes; the 2018 publication names four planting schemes, including one with ginkgo.
Growing altitude: A 2021 popular publication gives 1900–2500 m for gardens in Wuhe and Mazhan townships and Mingguang Town; I did not find official confirmation of this figure.
Soils: Publications of 2018 and 2021 speak of volcanic ash soils rich in organic matter. These are descriptions from publications, not the mark’s requirements.
Climate: According to the 2018 publication, the gardens are high in the mountains, and in winter it sometimes snows there. No precise data were found in the sources consulted.

5. Production Technology

I have not seen the mark’s requirements for the technology. A 2018 publication about the Tengchong oolong garden lists the stages: plucking, light withering, cooling, tossing, fixation, rolling into balls and drying — and calls “making green” (做青) the main step, on which the aroma and taste of the oolong depend. No parameters are given.

The general scheme of rolled oolong — not a description of the technology of Téngchōng wūlóngchá in particular:

Plucking (采青, cǎiqīng).
Light withering (晾青, liàngqīng): The leaf loses moisture.
Tossing (摇青, yáoqīng): The leaf edges are bruised and partly oxidize; together with resting, this is “making green” (做青, zuòqīng).
Fixation (炒青, chǎoqīng): Heat stops oxidation.
Rolling into balls (包揉, bāoróu): The leaf is rolled in cloth into tight hemispheres.
Drying (烘干, hōnggān).

6. Organoleptic Characteristics

The mark’s reference summary describes two types. Its description of “浓香型” speaks of a “清香” aroma and light firing — that is how the source has it.

Dry leaf appearance: “清香型” — fleshy, sturdy, tightly rolled into balls, heavy, emerald green with a sheen, with a pronounced “sandy green” tone, even and clean. “浓香型” — tightly rolled, heavy, sandy green, emerald with a sheen, even and clean.
Dry leaf aroma: No descriptions were found in the sources consulted.
Liquor aroma: “清香型” — high, fresh and long-lasting. “浓香型” — clean, light.
Taste: “清香型” — fresh, mellow and “high” (鲜醇、高爽). “浓香型” — clean, mellow, sweet and refreshing, with a slight taste of firing (清醇甘爽、火候轻微).
Liquor color: “清香型” — green-yellow, bright and clear. “浓香型” — golden yellow, clear and bright.
Spent leaves (wet leaves): “清香型” — fleshy, glossy, even, with a long-lasting residual aroma. “浓香型” — thick, soft, glossy and even.

7. Chemical Composition

No data were found in the sources consulted.

8. Brewing

Standard practice for rolled oolong as a class.

Water temperature: 95–100 °C; for the light “清香型”, 90–95 °C is possible.
Tea amount: 5–7 g per 100–110 ml.
Teaware: Gaiwan or a small clay teapot.
Process:
1. Warm the teaware.
2. Add the tea.
3. Quickly rinse the leaf with hot water and pour it off.
4. First infusion — 20–30 seconds.
5. Pour out the liquor completely.
6. Six to eight infusions, adding time with each.

9. Storage

Standard practice for the class. Airtight, away from light, moisture and odors. Light green oolong is usually kept in a refrigerator and drunk within a year; oolong with noticeable firing can be stored in a dry, cool place at room temperature.

10. Price and Counterfeits

No price data were found in the sources consulted.

How to avoid counterfeits:
- Look for the mark “腾冲乌龙茶”.
- Check that the producer is from Tengchong.
- Do not confuse the mark with the four neighboring marks of the series: each class has its own mark.
- Remember that rolled oolong is made in many regions: origin is confirmed by the mark and the producer, not by the look of the leaf.

11. Interesting Facts

Tengchong registered five tea marks at once — one per class — and in the provincial list they stand in a row, rows 63–67.
The oolong garden near Tengchong is at the same time a scenic area with six kilometers of walking trails and five pavilions.
Among the tea bushes there grows oil camellia, which has its own mark in the same provincial list — “腾冲红花油茶”.

12. Comparison with Other Oolong Teas

Dong Ding Wulong (冻顶乌龙): Taiwanese rolled oolong from the Qingxin Wulong cultivar — the same cultivar that is named for Tengchong.
Yunnan Jingmai Wulong (云南景迈乌龙): Another Yunnan oolong, made by Taiwanese technology in the gardens of Jingmai Mountain.
Yunnan Yancha (云南岩茶): A Yunnan name with the word “岩茶” that has nothing to do with oolong: it was proposed as a name for the tea of Bangdong Township, which essays describe as pu-erh.
Tengchong Baicha (腾冲白茶): White tea from the same series of five Tengchong marks.

In Conclusion:

Téngchōng wūlóngchá is an oolong from western Yunnan, from the land of volcanoes on the border with Myanmar. The mark was registered together with four others by tea class, and the reference description knows two of its types — the light green-yellow “清香型” and the golden “浓香型”. The cultivar, the altitudes and the history of its beginnings rest for now on popular publications, and until the mark’s document appears they should be treated as a guide, not as fact.