Amy Scott

So it's really kind of similar to yerba mate, but it's our North American varietal.

And it has caffeine in it.

So it's a really great tea and is pretty drought resistant, heat resistant, that kind of thing.

So I'm personally really interested to see how that goes with regards to climate change over the years, how customers' tastes will change and how plants like this might get a chance to shine.

Jessi Dean, founder and owner of Asheville Tea Company in Asheville, North Carolina.

Thanks as always, Jessi.

Take care.

Thank you so much for having me, Amy.

Thank you.

We talked at the top of the show about sluggish hiring in the job market, a hiring recession, Heather Long called it.

Well, a recent survey of chief financial officers from the Richmond Federal Reserve found that a big reason companies aren't hiring more is uncertainty about consumer demand.

Economic question marks have also been affecting businesses' growth plans for the year ahead.

Marketplace's Justin Ho has been talking with some business owners about their outlook.

Even though the most recent GDP report showed that consumer spending is still strong, some business owners are still seeing an uncertain economy.

That's Brittany Coleman.

She's the founder and CEO of Tough Cutie, a company that sells merino wool socks.

Coleman says demand has been weakening ever since the second half of last year.

And she says she and the retailers that sell her socks are concerned that demand will stay weak.

As a result, Coleman says she's focusing on selling her socks directly to consumers because selling through lots of retailers can be costly.

Put another way, Coleman says she's simply not focusing on growing the business right now.