Oolong
Oolong (Template:Zh-c  wulong) is a traditional Chinese tea somewhere between green and black in oxidation. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation.
In Chinese tea culture, semi-oxidized oolong teas are collectively grouped as qingcha (Template:Zh-cl). Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea but it likewise does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea.  It is commonly brewed to be strong, with the bitterness leaving a sweet aftertaste.  Several subvarieties of oolong, including those produced in the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian and in the central mountains of Taiwan, are among the most famous Chinese teas.
Oolong tea leaves are processed in two different ways.  Some teas are rolled into long curly leaves, while some are pressed into a ball-like form similar to gunpowder tea.  The former method of processing is the older of the two.

# Etymology
The name oolong tea comes into the English language from the Chinese name (), which is pronounced as O-liong te in the Min Nan spoken variant. The Chinese name means "black dragon tea". There are three widely accepted explanations on how this Chinese name came about.
According to the "tribute tea" theory, oolong tea was a direct descendant of Dragon-Phoenix Tea Cake tribute tea. Oolong tea replaced it when loose tea came into fashion. Since it was dark, long and curly, it was called the Black Dragon tea.
According to the "Wuyi" theory, oolong tea first existed in Wuyi Mountain. This is evidenced by Qing dynasty poems such as Wuyi Tea Song (Wuyi Chage) and Tea Tale (Chashuo). It was said that oolong tea was named after the part of Wuyi mountain it was originally produced.
According to the "Anxi" theory, oolong tea had its origin in the Anxi oolong tea plant. A man named Sulong, Wulong or Wuliang discovered it.
Another tale tells of a man named Wu Liang (later corrupted to Wu Long, or Oolong) who discovered oolong tea by accident when he was distracted by a deer after a hard day's tea-picking, and by the time he remembered about the tea it had already started to oxidize.

# Processing of Oolong
Oolong tea undergoes a few delicate processes in order to produce the unique aroma and taste. Typical Oolong tea is processed according to the following steps:
- Wilting (; weidiao): Sun dry or air dry to remove moisture partly.
- Cooling: Cool off in shaded area.
- Yaoqing (; yaoqing): Gently tossing leaves to bruise the edge of leaves to create more contacting surface for oxidation.
- Cooling and Yaoqing are repeated multiple times.
- Shaqing (; shaqing): The procedure is to stop oxidation with high heat. Premium leaves are usually stir fried in a large pan over high heat, large productions are done by machine.
- Rouqing (; rouqing): The tea leaves are rolled into strands or nuggets before dehydration.
- Roasting: Roasting with low heat to dehydrate tea leaves, this step can be repeated with temperature variations to produce flavors of choice.
- Grading
- Packaging

# Classification and grade
Tea connoisseurs classify the tea by its aroma (often floral or fruity), taste and aftertaste (often melony). Oolongs comes in either roasted () or light ( or ). While most oolongs can be consumed immediately postproduction, like pu-erh tea, many oolong can benefit from long aging with regular light roasting with a low charcoal fire (, pinyin:hongpei, literally: bake cultivation or , pinyin:peihuo, dry roasting by fire). Before roasting, Oolong tea leaves are rolled and bruised to break open cell walls and stimulate enzymatic activity. The process of roasting removes unwanted odours from the tea  and reduces any sour or astringent tastes; in addition, the process is believed to make the oolong tea more gentle on the stomach.

# Varieties of Oolong Tea

### Wuyi cliff tea () from Fujian province
The most famous and expensive Oolong teas are made here but the production is still usually accredited as organic. A lot of Shui Xian is grown elsewhere in Fujian.
Some of the better known yan cha are:

### Fujian province

### Guangdong province
As the name implies, Dancong ("single bush") teas are clonal or single-bush productions.

### Taiwan
Tea cultivation only began in Taiwan in the mid 19th century. Since then, many of the teas which are grown in Fujian province have also been grown in Taiwan. Since the 1970s the tea industry in Taiwan has grown at a rapid rate, in line with the rest of Taiwan's economy. Due to high domestic demand and a strong tea culture, the majority of Taiwanese tea is bought and consumed by the Taiwanese.
As the weather in Taiwan is highly variable, quality of tea may differ from season to season. Although the island is not particularly large, it is geographically varied, with high, steep mountains rising quickly from low-lying coastal plains. The different weather patterns, temperatures, altitudes and soil ultimately result in differences in appearance, aroma and flavour of the tea grown in Taiwan. In some mountainous areas, teas have been cultivated at ever higher elevations to produce a unique sweet taste that fetches a premium price.

## Other oolong teas
- Darjeeling Oolong: Darjeeling tea made according to Chinese methods.
- Vietnamese Oolong
- Thai Oolong
- African Oolong: made in Malawi and in Kenya

# Brewing
Generally, 2.25 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water, or about two teaspoons of oolong tea per cup, should be used. Oolong teas should be prepared with 180F to 190F (82C-87C) water (not boiling) and steeped 3-4 minutes.