I’ve Bought This $220 Mattress Five Times—Here's Why
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We all have that purchase. The one we won’t shut up about and will stop at nothing to persuade others to buy as well. For me, it’s the Zinus Green Tea mattress. Back in 2019, long before my days as deputy digital editor at House Beautiful, I spent hours researching mattresses online to replace my old bed. Full disclosure: I had never purchased my own mattress before, and I had absolutely no idea how expensive they were. I had gotten the full-size one I was sleeping on at the time for free with a bed frame I bought on Craigslist, but I had just moved into a new apartment and finally had room for a queen—a miracle in New York! My excitement was short-lived, though. When I started to search for a new mattress, I was hit with major sticker shock—until I found the affordable, highly rated mattress company Zinus, that is.
At $220 on Amazon for the queen size, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more affordable new mattress. Don’t get me wrong: I am now a firm believer in the value of a luxury mattress—especially if you need amenities for a particular purpose, like pain relief—but if your top priority is the price point, Zinus is the brand for you. I was personally so happy with my bed-in-a-box memory foam mattress that I told anyone who would listen to buy one, including my own family, who share my love of a good deal.
I had been sleeping soundly on my Zinus mattress for seven months when the pandemic hit, and I moved back to Iowa to live with my family for a few weeks. Those weeks turned into months, and canceled plans meant a lot of time to work on renovating the lake house my family had bought. When it came time to furnish the three bedrooms, there was no question that we would be buying Zinus mattresses. Of course, most people are looking to spend less on a bed for a room that will be used for only part of the year, like a guest room or summer house bedroom, and this is a great option if you fall into that camp. But if you’re looking for an affordable mattress to use year-round, like I was, Zinus is also up for the challenge.
After sleeping on my Zinus mattress for five years, it showed no signs of sagging and remained just as comfortable, if not more so, than it was my first night sleeping on it. The only reason I traded it in for the Saatva Rx I now sleep on and proudly recommend is that I suffered an injury and needed a mattress designed specifically for back pain. But don’t get it twisted; my back was messed up, not my mattress. Like the 110K five-star reviews on Amazon, I am clearly a fan of this mattress. But if you’re still not on board, keep reading for details on the delivery and install process, overall performance review (spoiler alert: the motion isolation is fab!), and answers to many frequently asked questions.
Delivery and Installation
The first time I ordered a Zinus Green Tea mattress, I ordered it directly from the brand’s website. (Note: If you order your mattress from Zinus, allow two business days for the order to process and three to seven business days for your order to arrive.) Since that first order, my family has ordered this mattress four additional times from Amazon, and each mattress has arrived in two days thanks to Prime Delivery.
Bed-in-a-box mattresses are incredibly easy to have delivered. You don’t need to schedule a drop-off window or wait at home for a delivery because they arrive, as the name suggests, in a box. However, the slightly more difficult thing about any bed-in-a-box, including the Zinus mattress, is installation. It arrived tightly vacuum sealed in the box; to remove it, you have to cut the packaging. If you aren’t careful, you can tear the mattress—that was the trickiest part for me. Once you’ve unwrapped the mattress, you can pretty easily roll it onto your floor or bed frame, where it will begin to expand.
I unboxed my Zinus mattress after work one night, and by the time I went to bed, it had expanded to close to its full 10-inch height. Although Zinus says to allow 72 hours for a mattress to decompress fully, they say it’s fine to sleep on it the first night, so I did. To my surprise and relief, there was no off-gassing, and I slept incredibly well on night one.
Zinus Green Tea Mattress Performance Review
I have no idea where or when the Craigslist mattress I had been sleeping on was purchased, but I still remember how blown away I was at the difference between that coil spring mattress and my new memory foam one. I had never had a memory foam mattress before the Zinus, but I had always purchased memory foam toppers, so it made sense that I loved the feel. When I purchased my Zinus mattress from the retailer, it was offered in six-, eight-, 10-, and 12-inch heights, and I opted for the 10-inch model.
Construction
Zinus’s Green Tea memory foam mattress has three layers. The first layer is memory foam infused with green tea, which the brand says provides and maintains freshness. (After sleeping on my mattress for five years, I can say that it did stay fresh.) The second layer is the brand’s “comfort foam,” which it touts as “cradling softness without too much sink,” and the final layer is a stronger base foam for support.
Firmness
Despite what those Casper commercials may make you picture when you hear memory foam, the Zinus Green Tea mattress is a firm mattress. Unlike innerspring or hybrid models, it doesn’t have any bounce back. This was something I really loved since I had previously only slept on coil spring mattresses, which are uncomfortably unstable in my opinion.
Motion Isolation
Because of that firmness, you’ll see in the video above that the Zinus mattress is incredible at motion isolation. Even more so than the much more expensive hybrid mattress I currently sleep on—since any amount of coils, pocketed or not, create some bounce. I never woke up from a partner moving around or getting in and out of bed when I slept on the Zinus mattress. It's also perfect for our lake house if you're sharing the bed with an early riser; you can guarantee you won't be woken up when they go fishing, and you choose to rest until it's time to tan.
Edge Support
The Zinus Green Tea mattress consists of stacked layers of memory foam inside a soft cover, so there’s no added barrier supporting the sides. I never rolled off the bed at night, but if you sit on the edge, it will dip down rather than support you the way a mattress with coils around the perimeter might.
Temperature Regulation
I opted for the original green tea mattress because it was the most affordable, and as I mentioned, I was #broke. But the brand does offer a cooling option that many reviewers have praised. I’m not a particularly hot sleeper, so the regular option worked well for me. My family opted for the more affordable option for the lake as well since we aren’t there year-round, and we haven’t had any complaints from guests so far, even in the hot months.
Off-Gassing
The Zinus Green Tea mattresses I’ve unboxed didn’t omit any unpleasant odors. I picked up a mild green tea scent at first, but it faded over time. It’s also not a negative smell like the ones some other cheap mattresses or toppers might give off while they’re decompressing.
Zinus Green Tea Mattress Pros and Cons
Zinus Original Green Tea Mattress vs. Zinus Cooling Green Tea Mattress
The main difference between Zinus’s Original Green Tea mattress and the Cooling Green Tea mattress is that the latter has a cooling gel memory foam layer. Both have a layer of green tea–infused foam and the same memory foam base layer for a total of three memory foam layers and tout the same firmness and feel, so the above performance review should apply minus the evaluation of temperature regulation.
The cooling version also costs $200 more than the original version on the Zinus website. (The cost difference varies on Amazon.) As mentioned, I opted for the original because it was more affordable, and I never had trouble with overheating while sleeping on it. However, if that’s a big concern for you, the cooling option, which has 55k five-star reviews on Amazon, could be a better fit.
Zinus Green Tea Mattress Final Verdict
I scoured the internet in 2019 as a broke twentysomething, and Zinus was the most affordable mattress I could find. Five years later, Zinus’s Green Tea mattress remains one of if not the most affordable mattresses out there. And as the more than 110K five-star reviews suggest, the low price doesn’t mean low quality. I slept on my Zinus mattress for five years, and it never sagged. If anything, it became more comfortable with time. The only potential reasons you might not love it as much as I do are that you prefer a softer mattress or the bouncy feel of a hybrid or coil mattress to the isolated memory foam feel. But if you’re looking for a quality mattress that won’t break the bank, I cannot personally recommend this bed-in-the-box mattress enough. It’s also a great option if you’re furnishing a guest room or second home and don’t want to invest in a luxury mattress that won’t be slept on most of the year. If you’re still not sold, keep reading for answers to several of the most frequently asked questions about the Zinus mattress brand and its Green Tea memory foam mattress.
Zinus Green Tea Mattress FAQ
Is Zinus Reliable?
After ordering five different Zinus green tea memory foam mattresses in both the queen and king sizes without issue, I would say that the mattress brand is definitely reliable. The brand also touts 110k five-star reviews on Amazon that support its consistent quality. If you do experience issues with your mattress, you can return it within 100 days whether you bought it on Amazon or directly from Zinus.
How Long Will a Zinus Mattress Last?
The brand says its mattresses will last for seven to 10 years, which is standard for a mattress. I slept on the Zinus Green Tea mattress for five years and didn’t notice any sagging or difference in quality. The same goes for the other Zinus mattresses my family has owned for around four years. The brand also offers a 10-year limited warranty for all of its mattresses, so if you do experience issues with your mattress you can submit a claim.
Does Zinus Put Fiberglass in Its Mattresses?
Zinus mattresses manufactured today do not contain fiberglass. Instead, they use a carbon rayon sleeve as fire protection. The company did use fiberglass previously, so if you’re buying a mattress from a different retailer, make sure to confirm that it states the mattress was manufactured without fiberglass. Note: Zinus mattresses being sold on Amazon should all be fiberglass free.
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