"It was the best dixie of tea I've ever had."

Was just reading "Return Ticket" by Anthony Deane-Drummond (a book in a collection of three WWII escape stories my father gave me) when I came upon the passage quoted in the title. Bewildered, I checked several dictionaries before turning to the Internet for help.

thefreedictionary.com gave the answer in the Thesaurus (this answer was then confirmed on Answers.com): "dixie - a large metal pot (12 gallon camp kettle) for cooking; used in military camps".

Fascinating. *returns to book*