Tom's Guide Verdict
The Essentia Stratami Organic mattress comes at a high price – a queen retails from $3,509 – but this natural latex mattress has a superb build quality and overall near-perfect performance. It scores high marks for motion isolation, temperature regulation and edge support. Back and stomach sleepers will find it supportive and comfortable, and while our panel of side sleepers liked this mattress, those who crave deeper pressure relief for their hips and shoulders may be disappointed. Our only real gripes are the very high return fee, a cumbersome setup process, and the overall cost. But if you have the budget and want an excellent luxury organic mattress, you won't go wrong with the Essentia Stratami Organic.
Pros
- +
Supportive for back/stomach sleepers
- +
Superb build and finish
- +
Sleeps temperature-neutral
- +
Excellent motion isolation
- +
Organic and vegan materials
Cons
- -
Too firm for some side sleepers
- -
High returns fee
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Only 8" and 10" heights available
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Essentia is known for its quality non-toxic and vegan beds, and the Essentia Stratami Organic mattress we've reviewed here sits in the middle of its lineup. It caters to back and side sleepers and is described as 'plush medium' and 'natural firm,' but what does that actually mean? After sleeping on it ourselves, here's what we can tell you about the the Essentia Stratami and whether it's good enough to make our rankings of this year's best mattresses for all sleepers.
For over three weeks, our lead tester slept on a queen-sized Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress with an 8" profile (there's a taller 10" profile available too). Our tester rates this mattress as medium-firm, or a 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. The surface is soft and springy but still supportive and comfortable for back and stomach sleeping, which is Essentia's target audience for this mattress.
Although our tester was comfortable on her side, dominant side sleepers may find it too firm unless they're patient enough to break it in. Essentia does offer a mattress trial – you'll get 120 nights to try it out, although you'll have to pay to send it back if you change your mind.
Type: Organic latex mattress
Materials: Organic latex foam, Kevlar fabric (flame barrier), organic cotton cover
Firmness (out of 10): Plush medium (we rate it a 6/10, or medium-firm)
Depth: 8" or 10" (we slept on the 8" version)
Trial period: 120 nights
Warranty: 20 years
Price: From $2,915 to $6.198 at Essentia
This organic mattress has a host of certifications (including GOLS and GOTS for its organic latex layers and organic cotton cover, respectively). Instead of wool, which is commonly used as a flame retardant in organic beds, Essentia uses Kevlar. All of these materials, and the craftsmanship involved, contribute to this bed's high cost.
But how well does the Essentia Stratami Organic mattress perform? The top comfort layer of organic latex has dome-shaped rows that allow for more airflow. Paired with the organic cotton cover, this yields a temperature-neutral sleep environment. (As a bonus, the cover is removable and machine-washable.) The organic latex support core contributes to steady edges for sitting along the perimeter, and both latex layers work together to dampen movement as well as any memory foam mattress.
While the Essential Stratami Organic Mattress excels in various areas, it is a bit lacking in customer service. White Glove Delivery is free with the 10" king-sized version only; it's otherwise an additional $249. Considering you're already paying a premium – and latex beds are heavy – this is a miss in our book.
Plus, you have to pay 9% of the original purchase price to send it back. Keep in mind that the MSRP starts at around $3,000, although you'll be able to score a 25% discount around major holiday mattress sales.
Those issues aside, we think the Essentia Stratami Organic mattress is a fantastic mattress for back and stomach sleepers. Our lead tester, as well as per parents, said it helped them achieve the restorative sleep they needed. Better yet, they felt comfortable knowing that they weren't breathing in any toxic or harmful chemicals as they slept.
Keep reading to find out how our queen-size 8" Essentia Stratami Organic mattress performed in all areas of our mattress testing. If you have the cash to splash on a luxury mattress for stomach or back sleepers, we say go for it.
Essentia Stratami Organic mattress review: Price & trial
- A premium organic mattress – a queen retails from $3,509
- Holiday sales cut 25% off and include free bedding
- Comes with a 120-night trial and 20-year warranty
The Stratami sits in the middle of Essentia's five-mattress lineup. Among the wider market, it's a premium mattress, which is no surprise, given it's loaded with certified organic materials and a Kevlar flame barrier. It comes in two height profiles: 8" and 10".
Here are the list prices for the 8" Essentia Stratami Organic mattress:
- Twin MSRP: $2,915
- Twin XL MSRP: $2,915
- Full MSRP: $3,399
- Queen MSRP: $3,509
- King MSRP: $4,999
And the list prices for the 10" Essentia Stratami organic mattress:
- Twin MSRP: N/A
- Twin XL MSRP: $4,114
- Full MSRP: N/A
- Queen MSRP: $4,708
- King MSRP: $6,198
Essentia usually holds its sales during major holidays like Black Friday and Presidents' Day. Its recent Memorial Day mattress sale cut 25% off all mattresses and threw in a free GOTS-certified organic cotton sheet set (valued at $299).
Every Essentia mattress comes with a 20-year limited warranty, with the first 10 years designated as a full warranty. This means that if there are any issues in the first 10 years, Essentia will replace the mattress completely and deliver it for free. For the final 10 years of the warranty, the mattress can be replaced for a prorated fee. This is slightly disappointing given the overall cost of this mattress, but it's also fairly standard practice among sleep companies.
The 120-night free trial also seems like a decent deal, but if you want to return or exchange the mattress, you'll be charged a nine percent fee of the retail price. In other words, if you buy a queen-sized 8" Essentia Stratami Organic mattress at its $3,509 MSRP, it'll cost $315.81 to send it back.
Shipping is free, but if you order the 10" Essentia Stratami mattress in king, you'll receive free White Glove Delivery. For all other sizes, you can upgrade to White Glove Delivery with optional removal of your old mattress for $249.
Essentia Stratami Organic mattress review: Design
- Has a machine-washable organic cotton cover
- No fiberglass – there's a Kevlar fire barrier
- Purportedly allergy-free since it lacks latex proteins
The Essentia Stratami is available as an 8" or 10" mattress. It has four layers, starting with a removable GOTS-certified organic cotton cover that's machine-washable in cold water. (You'll have to let it air-dry, though.) Unfortunately, the cover doesn’t have handles along the side, perhaps because Essentia doesn’t require flipping or rotating your mattress (but you can turn it occasionally if you want to).
Underneath that is a layer of Kevlar – the same material that's used in bulletproof vests. Kevlar serves as a flame retardant. In cheaper mattresses, fiberglass is often used as a fire barrier, and while it's generally safe to sleep on, exposure to it can trigger allergies or other health issues. Buying a fiberglass-free mattress like this one eliminates the risk of that happening.
The dome-shaped organic latex comfort layer is not a single dome but a layer of domed rows. Not only can you see the curves of the dome-shaped rows along the edges of the mattress, but you can feel them when you touch the top of the mattress. This design allows for better airflow and pressure point relief. At the base is a GOLS-certified organic latex support core to aid with alignment.
You can add an upgrade for EMF Protection Foam, which purports to shield you from exposure to radiation (electromagnetic fields). However, it costs up to about $700 – and this is already an expensive mattress. Some studies do show a link between EMFs and sleep disruption, but you can decrease your levels of exposure by putting your smartphone and other devices in another room before bedtime.
Essentia claims that its mattresses are safe for all sleepers – even those with latex allergies since there are no latex proteins. You won't find any wool, fiber batting, springs, or polyurethane foams, either.
Essentia has a plethora of environmental and safety certifications including GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard), GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), and Green America. The company sources all of its raw organic ingredients from certified organic, ethical, and fair-trade farms worldwide before making its latex foam at its factory in Montreal, Canada.
Essentia Stratami Organic mattress review: Support & comfort
- We rate it a 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale (medium-firm)
- Suitable for back and stomach sleepers
- Some side sleepers may find it too firm
Our lead tester has tried other organic latex mattresses before reviewing the Essentia Stratami, giving her a deeper understanding of how this type of bed can feel. In her experience, organic latex is not as firm as memory foam. Essentia calls the Stratami a 'natural firm' mattress to infer there's some firmness to it. (On the other hand, the brand calls the Stratami a 'plush medium' elsewhere on its site.)
In any case, our tester rates the Stratami Organic Mattress a 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale, or medium-firm. While she didn't sink that much into the mattress, it's not rock-solid, either. This buoyant, plush sleep surface has some give to it – you could even call it 'springy.' When our tester pressed her hand onto the surface, it bounced back almost immediately when she removed her hand – a contrast to the quicksand-like sensation of memory foam. The contouring effect is subtle.
Our tester, who is 5'5" and 170 lbs, slept comfortably on her stomach, back, and side. Her parents, who weigh slightly less, also slept on the mattress and felt supported and comfortable throughout the night. Our tester's mom was able to sleep on her side, while her father noted that the mattress alleviated some of the shoulder and neck pain he has been dealing with. However, we think some side sleepers may want something more contouring for their joints.
We also performed an objective test to measure pressure relief. When we placed a 15-lb. dumbbell at the center of the mattress, it sank half an inch. This is a great indicator of support and further proof that the pressure relief will be less of a deep sink and more of a subtle contouring.
Essentia Stratami Organic mattress review: Performance
- Breathable and cool throughout the night
- Superb motion isolation
- Great edge support along the perimeter
In addition to the experiences of our lead tester and her parents (who stayed over for one night), we ran objective tests to measure edge support and motion isolation. We also evaluated the ease of setup and temperature regulation. (Learn more about our mattress methodology.)
Here's how we fared after three weeks of sleeping on a queen-sized 8" Essentia Stratami Organic mattress...
Setup & delivery
The Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress ships free via FedEx. If you order a king-sized 10" mattress, free White Glove Delivery is included. Otherwise, you'll have to pay $249 for this service, which includes optional removal of your previous mattress.
Our test mattress arrived vacuum-packed and rolled in a cardboard box. The box was fairly heavy, and we had some difficulty unboxing it as the sides of the box had been glued shut. Instead, we had to open one end of the box and slowly pull the mattress out. (You'll definitely want someone to help you with setup, if possible.)
After cutting the plastic, the mattress unfurled. A sticker that read 'This Side Up' was placed on the top side of the mattress. It expanded quickly and gave off a slightly woodsy smell, though was very faint and disappeared quickly. It's probably the natural odor of the organic cotton cover or the latex. Off-gassing is more common with memory foam beds.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Temperature regulation
Organic latex sleeps temperature-neutral so that you’re neither cold nor hot throughout the night. The Essentia Stratami Organic mattress did just that for our lead tester, who never felt hot throughout the review period. The cotton cover combined with the dome-shaped organic latex foam layer worked well to allow more airflow. If you find the soothing sensation of most cooling mattresses off-putting, you may want to give the Essentia Stratami a try.
For further perspective, our lead tester is based in North Texas. She reviewed the Essentia Stratami in March when nightly temperatures fluctuated between 40-70 degrees F. Most evenings, the heat didn’t even turn on and our reviewer's house was anywhere between 60-67 degrees F. She slept with microfiber sheets and a lightweight comforter.
Score: 5 out of 5
Motion isolation
To test the motion isolation capabilities of the Stratami, we dropped a 15 lb. dumbbell 4", 10", and 25" away from an empty wine glass placed at the center of the mattress. The glass wobbled when the weight was dropped at all three distances – more so at 4" than any other distance – but it never toppled. The wine glass likely wobbled because of the uneven dome-shaped layer that it sat on.
Our lead tester asked her parents about their sleep experience, especially since her father is known to move a lot at night. Her mom said she was not awakened when her father got in and out of bed in the morning or when he fidgeted to find a more comfortable position.
Bottom line: these results bode well if you share a bed with a partner, kids, and/or pets. The Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress earns top marks in motion isolation from us.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Edge support
Despite not having springs or reinforced edges, our lead tester found the perimeter of the Essentia Stratami supportive to sit on, whether at the sides or the foot of the bed. It didn't matter that the mattress had a low profile (8") – our tester was never in fear of sinking into the bedframe.
We also placed a 15 lb. dumbbell in different areas around the perimeter. The dumbbell only sank half an inch, equivalent to what we measured at the center of the bed. (That's a good sign – you don't want the edges to sink lower than the middle.)
Score: 4.5 out of 5
Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress review: User reviews
- 4.5 out of 5-star rating from ~20 reviews (May 2024)
- Praise for pain relief, motion isolation, and no odor
- Complaints that it may be too firm for side sleepers
The ~20 reviews found on the product page for the Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress can’t be searched by star rating or even your own keywords. Rather, you can only search through the reviews by popular topics, of which Essentia has determined for you. Such topics include support, delivery, smell, mattress, sleep, bed, and difference.
Overall, the mattress has a 4.5 out of 5-star rating as of May 2024. All reviewers, no matter if they had negative or positive feedback, really liked the fact that the mattress had no odor. The biggest complaints seemed to come from side sleepers, some of whom noted that the mattress was too firm for them and thus caused some hip and shoulder pain. That said, some side sleepers liked the mattress, and a few even said it took their bodies anywhere from a few days to a whole month to get used to the mattress. (Remember that there's a 120-night trial.)
While some people said the mattress was firm, it was clear in reading through their reviews that they meant that it was 'solid,' especially compared to their previous mattresses which they inferred were either soft and sagging or lacking in support. A lot of customers noted that the mattress relieved minor aches and pains and that they were very impressed with the motion isolation capabilities.
Should you buy the Essentia Stratami organic mattress?
The Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress is not decidedly firm but should be plenty supportive for most back and stomach sleepers. Side sleepers who don't like anything too plush will find it comfortable, too. There's just enough pressure relief to alleviate nagging aches and pains, as several Essentia customers and our lead tester's father can attest.
If you're a light sleeper with a fidgety partner, we can certainly recommend this mattress based on the results of our motion isolation tests and feedback from customer reviews and our lead tester's parents. Hot sleepers should also fare well – it's not a cooling mattress per se, but the combination of organic cotton and latex makes for a breathable sleep surface that will keep you comfortable.
But then there's the price. Organic mattresses tend to cost more than any other mattress type due to the quality of the materials and craftsmanship, but the Essentia Stratami is among the most expensive we've ever tested. You could find something equally as comfortable that’s made with organic materials at a more affordable price – for one example, read our Avocado Green mattress review.
Even though you get a 120-night sleep trial with the Essentia Stratami Organic Mattress, you'll still need to pay to return or exchange it. That fee is nine percent of the retail price. Do the math to see just how expensive that fee could be. You better hope you love it.
Essentia Stratami organic mattress review: Alternatives to consider
