This silver needle white tea from tea zone was mellow, not even a hint of bitterness. No flavors, no bad tastes coming out of this tea. It REALLY helps to have purified water (aka. de-flourinated de-chlorinated water) for a tea this light. GREAT sipping tea. The quality of the tea is somewhere around good to excellent (~85/100). Used about 19 needles for about 10 ounces of hot water.