flipGood Sweet Billy Tea
Good Sweet Billy Tea
Why this dish? Hillary drank enormous amounts of very sweet tea, on expedition and at home, to combat altitude dehydration. Billy tea — boiled outdoors in a metal can (the billy) — is the ritual camp drink of the entire southern hemisphere.
A robust black tea boiled directly in the billy, generously sweetened, sometimes enriched with a splash of condensed milk. Hot, comforting, slightly bitter under the sweetness: the first and last sip of a day in the mountains.
If there's one thing we never skimped on, it's tea. At altitude, you dry out without even realising, so we drank litres of hot water and tea all day. You boil it in the billy, throw the leaves in, and sugar it without counting — you've got to put fuel back in the machine. A hot, sweet tea first thing in the morning, believe me, beats any speech for getting you going.
- •Water (melted snow in the mountains) — one billy can (base, rehydration)
- •Black tea leaves — a good pinch (body and bitterness)
- •Sugar — as much as you like (energy and sweetness)
- •Condensed milk — a splash (optional) (smoothness)
Good Sweet Billy Tea
A robust black tea boiled directly in the billy, generously sweetened, sometimes enriched with a splash of condensed milk. Hot, comforting, slightly bitter under the sweetness: the first and last sip of a day in the mountains.
Why this dish? Hillary drank enormous amounts of very sweet tea, on expedition and at home, to combat altitude dehydration. Billy tea — boiled outdoors in a metal can (the billy) — is the ritual camp drink of the entire southern hemisphere.
If there's one thing we never skimped on, it's tea. At altitude, you dry out without even realising, so we drank litres of hot water and tea all day. You boil it in the billy, throw the leaves in, and sugar it without counting — you've got to put fuel back in the machine. A hot, sweet tea first thing in the morning, believe me, beats any speech for getting you going.
Ingredients (period version)
- Water (melted snow in the mountains) — one billy can (base, rehydration)
- Black tea leaves — a good pinch (body and bitterness)
- Sugar — as much as you like (energy and sweetness)
- Condensed milk — a splash (optional) (smoothness)
Ingredients
- Water — 500 ml (base)
- Strong black tea (Assam or English Breakfast) — 2 tsp (body)
- Sugar — 2 to 3 tsp (energy sweetness)
- Unsweetened condensed milk — 1 tbsp (optional) (creaminess)
Method
- Bring the water to a rolling boil in a saucepan (the "billy").
- Throw the tea directly into the boiling water and let it steep for 2-3 minutes off the heat.
- Tap the side of the pan to settle the leaves at the bottom.
- Sweeten generously, add a splash of condensed milk if desired.
- Pour into a mug, straining roughly, and drink very hot.
How it was made : Billy tea is the drink of shepherds, explorers, and mountaineers throughout the southern hemisphere: water is boiled in a can over the fire, without a teapot. At high altitude, water boils at a lower temperature (boiling point drops), yielding a paler tea — hence the habit of loading up on leaves and sugar.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a dented enamel mug with an "altitude camp" label, and offer a version with manuka honey instead of sugar.
Sources : Edmund Hillary, High Adventure (1955) · Billy tea traditions, Te Ara — Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Edmund Hillary · Charactorium
