Well, howdy there! Let’s talk about this “black tea region” thing, the one they put in them crossword puzzles. You know, the kind in the newspaper, the one my grandson always scribbles in.

Now, they say “black tea region”, and first thing that pops in my head is… where they grow all that tea, right? I ain’t no fancy tea drinker, mind you. Give me a good ol’ cup of coffee any day. But I seen them tea bags at the store, and they gotta come from somewhere, ain’t it?

So, I hear tell this crossword puzzle clue shows up all the time. Folks be scratchin’ their heads, tryin’ to figure it out. Seems like they had it in the New York Times puzzle, and that’s a big deal, I reckon. They even got websites and apps now, just for these puzzles! My grandson showed me on his phone. He says you can get help if you’re stuck, find the answers and all that. Land sakes, what will they think of next?

They say the answer is usually ASSAM. That’s five letters, fits right in them little boxes. Now, I ain’t never been to Assam, but I heard it’s a place where they grow a whole heap of tea. Somewhere over in India, I think. They say India, China, Sri Lanka, and Africa, them’s the big tea places.

• India: They got that Assam tea, like I said.
• China: Heard they been growin’ tea there for ages. Even got a fancy kind called Lapsang Souchong, comes from some place called Wuyi. Sounds like a sneeze to me!
• Sri Lanka: That’s an island, ain’t it? They grow tea there too, apparently.
• Africa: Big place, Africa. Lots of land for growin’ things, tea included.

Now, this crossword puzzle thing, it ain’t easy, I tell ya. Some of them clues are right tricky. My grandson says the Saturday ones are the hardest, the ones that make you think the most. Monday’s are easy-peasy, he says. Sunday ones are big, but not too hard. I guess it’s like anything, you gotta practice to get good at it.

They say this “black tea region” clue pops up regular. September 6th, September 7th, they find it all the time. And folks are always lookin’ for the answer. They got databases and all, just for crossword clues! Can you believe it? All that fuss over a little puzzle.

So, if you’re stuck on this “black tea region” clue, remember what I told ya. ASSAM is a good bet. But there might be other answers too, depends on how many letters they give ya. Five letters is usually Assam, though. That’s what they tell me, anyway.

And if you’re still stuck, well, there’s plenty of help out there. Just ask my grandson! He’ll find the answer for ya in a jiffy. He’s got that phone of his, always clickin’ and tappin’. Kids these days, they know more about these things than I ever will.

But at the end of the day, it’s just a puzzle, right? Something to keep your mind busy. And if you can learn a little somethin’ about tea along the way, well, that ain’t so bad neither. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go make myself a cup of coffee. All this talk about tea is makin’ me thirsty!

Tags：[black tea, crossword, Assam, NYT, puzzle, clue, tea region, India, China, Sri Lanka, Africa]