ROY-boss, or ROY-bose?
Neither, but Roy-boss is the closest. its hard to give an approximation using typical english sounds.
Its kinda like roy-baws. Think of the vowel sound in the english word “law”, but say it as if you got interupted just before you finished it, so it is a shorter sound. Though I think this only works with an english accent, rather than an american one.
The tea companies I deal with pronounce it ROO-e-bos. The second syllable is barely there (a schwa), and the third syllable is somewhere between boss and b’ss.
This is not how it is pronounced in Afrikaans. There are only two syllables. “Rooi” means “red” and “bos” means “bush”.
Off topic: I find the best way to drink it is with a bit of sugar and lemon juice:)
Sorry, Saffer, I have never discussed rooibos with a South African. I only know how the American tea dealers say it. Of course, the vowel sound in “roy” is basically a dipthong anyway, so we might be talking about the same pronunciation and describing it differently.
(And to continue the off-topic discussion, I find straight rooibos okay to drink, but I prefer the earl grey, Jamaican spice, or blueberry flavored versions from Rishi.)
ROY-boss is as close as you can get with English sounds, but I think you two are actually talking about the same pronunciation - it is a diphthong, and mushing ROO-e into one syllable approximates it quite well.
I’ve learnt a new word, thanks Gary 