What does it mean to belong somewhere and to belong to yourself?
In this episode, We sit down with ReAnn Nicholson, founder of Origins Tea, for a deeply moving conversation about identity, heritage, and what happens when you stop running from where you came from and finally turn toward it.
ReAnn moved to the United States from China at nine years old, carrying with her memories of home, family, and a culture that didn’t always have a place in the world she was growing up in. The pressure to assimilate was real and for years, so was the identity crisis that came with being caught between two worlds. Chinese and American. Here and there. Neither fully one, nor the other.
It was tea that stayed. A quiet, consistent thread connecting her to her family and her roots across thousands of miles.
In 2025, after years of climbing the corporate ladder, ReAnn walked away and walked toward something far more meaningful. She went back to China, reconnected with her heritage, and discovered a cousin who had been a tea farmer all along. That journey home became the foundation for Origins Tea: a company that is as much a tribute to her lineage as it is a business.
We talk about the origins of tea itself, why tea holds such profound cultural significance, and how ReAnn has built a community around it, through workshops, ceremonies, and gatherings that invite people to slow down, connect, and be present. Because tea isn’t just a drink. In ReAnn’s world, it’s an invitation to come home to yourself.
This one is for anyone who has ever felt caught between cultures, between who they were told to be and who they actually are and who is ready to find their way back to their own roots.
IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER:
- ReAnn’s experience moving from China to the US at age nine and the pressure to assimilate
- The identity crisis of being Chinese-American and feeling like she didn’t fully belong in either world
- How that internal tension ultimately led her deeper into her Chinese heritage and back to China
- The discovery of her cousin, a tea farmer and how that reconnection changed everything
- The history and cultural significance of tea, and what it means within Chinese tradition
- How tea ceremonies create space for presence, community, and meaningful human connection
- The mission behind Origins Tea: empowering people to embrace their own cultural identities
Join The Fully Expressed Community, where you can be surrounded by other women who are also on the same path of personal growth, healing, and uncovering their authentic expression. Being in a community surrounded by others can truly be one of the most supporting and healing containers to support your personal invitation.
LET’S CONNECT!
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