A BURRADOO hospitality host will be pouring her heart into the Biggest Morning Tea this week.
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B&B proprietor Div Williams will be presenting three Japanese tea ceremonies in the Mittagong tourism information centre this Thursday at the invitation of Destination Southern Highlands.
"They asked me if I'd like to do it as they wanted to do something slightly different for the Cancer Council Australia fundraiser," Mrs Williams said.
"There's a lot more to it than just making tea.
"Preparing tea in this ceremony means pouring one's attention into the movements. The whole process is not about drinking tea, but aesthetics [and] preparing a bowl of tea from one's heart."
Mrs Williams' ceremonies will showcase an authentic bonryakudemae setting with round tray, ceramic bowls, whisk, scoop, caddy, napkin, iron pot, and sweets to leaven the mildly bitter green tea.
"The tea leaf is ground and powdered and not burned or fermented like black tea - it's tea in its purest form," Mrs Williams said.
The bonryakudemae is "what they call a travelling tea set, wrapped in a cloth and taken to a picnic," or other informal occasion, and made on the floor or at a low table.
Zen monks in the 12th century brought tea to Japan from China and used it to stay awake and subdue hunger pains while meditating.
Nobility then discovered it and turned it into a status symbol, before it was simplified in the 14th century and developed into a cultural ritual through tea schools.
The ceremony is "just a small portion of what's really a much bigger thing", Mrs Williams said.
"Each time you make it, it's different. It's all the cultural heritage of Japan captured in a ceremony. it's respect for the utensils and respect for the guest. There is a lot of Zen philosophy behind it," she said.
Mrs Williams first took tea in Japan when she accompanied her husband on business there in 1987.
The wife of her husband's business counterpart took Mrs Williams to a traditional tea ceremony in Tokyo, "and I just loved it. She gave me the caddy which I still use and treasure today."
The three ceremonies are timed for 10am, 10.30am and 11am on May 28.
RSVP through Destination Southern Highlands' Facebook page or drop in to the Main St tourism information centre in Mittagong.
All proceeds donated by those attending the tea ceremonies will go to Cancer Council Australia.