Essentia Mattress Review

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The Tatami Hybrid is a hybrid mattress combining the comfort of memory foam with the support of pocketed coils. It features a unique, natural memory foam and recycled steel coils, and it’s firmer than many hybrids. Together, these factors mean the Tatami Hybrid should appeal to back or stomach sleepers and folks prioritizing eco-friendliness.

Because natural memory foam is so unique, I was excited to try out this mattress. I gave it the full onslaught of tests, from firmness and feel to pressure relief and motion transfer. Overall, I was really impressed with the bed, so read on to learn what kind of sleepers might like it too. For more, check out my full review to find out! (If you’re tight on time, skip on down to my review summary.)

$200 Off For Every $1,000 Spent
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid

The Essentia Tatami Hybrid is a great option for firm option for those looking for a mattress made with natural materials!

Brand Snapshot

The Tatami Hybrid is made by Essentia, a company that pioneered and manufactures natural memory foam mattresses. The company is committed to creating mattresses that don’t off-gas harmful chemicals, and all of its products are manufactured in a Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) certified organic facility. In addition to several lines of mattresses, the company also sells foundations, pillows, and other sleep accessories.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Mattress
The Essentia Tatami Hybrid Mattress

What Is the Tatami Hybrid Made Of?

The Tatami Hybrid is made of unique materials in the form of recycled steel coils and natural memory foam. Together, these materials provide a combination of comfort and support. But don’t let the memory foam lull you into thinking this is a soft mattress; it’s actually on the firmer side.

Want to learn more about this unique construction? Read on for a detailed rundown!

Cover – The cover is made from breathable, GOTS certified organic cotton. It’s washable and features a full zip, so it’s easy to remove and care for.

Comfort Layer – Underneath the cover is a comfort layer made of 1.5 inches of natural memory foam. This unique material features an organic latex base along with natural Dunlop Latex, natural hevea milk from rubber trees, and GOTS certified organic cotton. Like regular memory foam, this layer offers some body contouring and a fairly slow response to pressure.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Test
Laying around on the Essentia Tatami Hybrid

Transition Layer – Nestled beneath the comfort layer is a 0.5-inch transition layer made from natural latex. It’s firmer and provides more support than the comfort layer to help ease your body from the softer comfort layer into the support of the pocketed coils. It’s bouncier than the comfort layer and helps ensure that you sleep on top of the mattress (instead of “in” it).

Support Layer – Next up is 8 inches of pocketed, individually wrapped coils made from recycled steel. This layer helps account for the mattress’s firm feel and bounce, which lets you change positions easily and means you probably won’t feel stuck. The firmness could really appeal to back and stomach sleepers, who need a supportive mattress to keep their spines in alignment.

Base Layer – Last but certainly not least, there’s a base layer made of up 0.5 inches of cotton padding. This layer provides a secure-but-slightly-cushy foundation for the coils and helps to absorb some movement.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Materials
Essentia uses something called Natural Memory Foam in their mattresses

How Firm Is the Tatami Hybrid Mattress?

Mattresses are like people: It’s what’s inside that counts! Now that you know what’s inside of the Tatami Hybrid, you’re better equipped to understand why this mattress feels the way it does. Let’s start with its firmness.

Discussing firmness can be tricky, because it’s fairly subjective. People vary when it comes to weight, body shape, personal preferences, and so on, so one person’s “kinda firm” might be another person’s “way too soft.” So keep this in mind when weighing my personal assessment. Speaking of which: I rated this mattress at a 7.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. The industry standard for medium firmness is 6.5 (a full point lower), so I think it’s fair to say this is a relatively firm mattress.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Firmness
I found the Essentia Tatami Hybrid to be pretty firm

Why might the Tatami Hybrid be on the firmer side? A lot of it comes down to the pocketed coils, which offer strong support and not much body contouring. Also, the natural memory foam is made from latex, which is typically bouncier than conventional memory foam. Finally, that supportive transition layer also contributes to the mattress’s overall firm feel. This vibe might be ideal for back and stomach sleepers, who need plenty of support to maintain neutral spine alignment through the night.

$200 Off For Every $1,000 Spent
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid

The Essentia Tatami Hybrid is a great option for firm option for those looking for a mattress made with natural materials!

Testing the Tatami Hybrid Mattress

Alright, now let’s really dive into the nitty gritty of what it’s like to sleep on the Tatami Hybrid! To do that, let’s test for Pressure Relief and Motion Transfer.

Pressure Relief

Pressure relief is a key factor when it comes to determining whether any mattress is a good fit for your sleep style. It’s all about a mattress’s ability to relieve tension around sensitive areas of the body including the lower back, hips, and shoulders. To test out this bed’s pressure relief, I turned to my trusty pressure map.

Here’s how it goes down: I roll out the pressure map on top of the mattress and hop aboard. Then, the pressure map tracks my body’s force as I test out different positions. Low-pressure areas show up as blue, while the highest pressure areas are depicted in red.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Pressure
Pressure map results for the Essentia Tatami Hybrid

Back – While lying on my back, I feel like my weight is evenly distributed and my spine is in neutral alignment. I feel good support from the transition layer and coils, while the comfort layer helps ensure that I’m not feeling any major pressure points. I think this could be a great choice for most back sleepers.

Side – When I move to my side, I’m feeling a fair amount of pressure on my shoulder. This is probably because the mattress is on the firmer side. If you’re a combination sleeper who only spends a portion of each night on your side, you might be okay with this feel, but I think it’s likely going to be too firm for strict side sleepers.

Stomach – When I’m on my stomach, I feel similarly to how I do on my back: My weight is evenly distributed and my spine is well-aligned. I also feel great support at my hips. The mattress should be a good fit for stomach sleepers.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Back
The Essentia Tatami Hybrid has a firm feel that I like for back sleepers

Motion Transfer

If you sleep with a partner, child, or pet (whether by choice or because Fido sneaks into bed in the middle of the night!), then you’ll want to pay extra attention to motion transfer. This term is all about the amount of movement that’s detectable from one side of the bed to the other — it tells you whether you’ll feel your sleeping partner’s movements during the night.

I have a fun way to mimic motion transfer: I drop a 10 lb steel ball from 4 inches, 8 inches, and 12 inches. These heights represent different movements ranging from run-of-the-mill tossing and turning, to getting out of the bed for a nighttime bathroom trip, to jumping on the bed. I measure the disturbance that results from each of these drops, with the bigger lines representing the biggest disturbance.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Motion
Motion transfer test results for the Essentia Tatami Hybrid

This is a hybrid mattress, so I was interested to see how it would perform with motion transfer. Conventional memory foam helps absorb motion, but the memory foam on this mattress is a little different because it’s made from natural latex (as opposed to polyurethane foam, which is often used to make conventional memory foam). Meanwhile, coils tend to do a poor job with motion transfer, but individually wrapped coils (like the ones in this mattress) usually do a better job. All told, the Tatami Hybrid actually performed pretty well when it comes to motion transfer, especially when compared to other hybrids. There’s a bit of disturbance with the larger drops, but overall I think this will be a decent option for couples.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Testing
Running some tests on the Essentia Tatami Hybrid

Is the Tatami Hybrid Mattress Right for You?

Congratulations, you’ve nearly made it through this full review! So now it’s time for the magic question: Is the Tatami Hybrid right for you? I can’t make that call, but I can share some final thoughts to help you with your big decision!

$200 Off For Every $1,000 Spent
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid

The Essentia Tatami Hybrid is a great option for firm option for those looking for a mattress made with natural materials!

Pros

  • This mattress offers firm support that could be ideal for back sleepers and stomach sleepers. It should help keep your spine in neutral alignment and keep you supported all night long.
  • Thanks to its pocketed coils and firm transition layer, the Tatami Hybrid features great mobility. You should sleep on top of this mattress and find it easy to move around and change positions. This means it should be suitable for combo sleepers.
  • The mattress boasts eco-friendly materials including organic cotton and latex, natural latex, recycled steel coils, and so on. This is a rare find among mattresses that utilize memory foam, so it’s a great choice for people who prioritize going green.

Cons

  • The mattress is probably too firm for strict side sleepers. Because it’s firm, it creates some pressure on the shoulder. If you sleep through the night on your side, this mattress might not offer enough body contouring and pressure relief.
  • This mattress is on the pricier side, especially when compared to other hybrids. That’s most likely because it utilizes organic and natural materials. But if you are price conscious you may want to check out our best cheap mattresses page.
Essentia Tatami Hybrid Shoulder
I didn’t love the Essentia Tatami Hybrid for side sleepers

Basics

  • Trial: 120 Days
  • Shipping: Free + Compressed
  • Warranty: 10-Year Limited

How Much Does the Essentia Tatami Hybrid Cost?

$200 Off For Every $1,000 Spent
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid
Essentia Tatami Hybrid

The Essentia Tatami Hybrid is a great option for firm option for those looking for a mattress made with natural materials!

Size Dimensions Price
Twin XL 39″ x 80″ x 10.5″ $2,150
Queen 60″ x 80″ x 10.5″ $2,590
King 76″ x 80″ x 10.5″ $3,290

Still deciding? Take a look at our mattress performance rating for the Essentia Tatami Hybrid mattress below.

Essentia Tatami Hybrid Mattress
Essentia Tatami Hybrid Review

The Essentia Tatami Hybrid is a great option for firm option for those looking for a mattress made with natural materials!

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
3.9

Logan Block

Logan is the former content director of Sleepopolis. As content director, he reviewed new mattresses every week and curated the comparisons, best of pages, and video guides on the site. Logan perfected his method by personally testing over 200 different mattresses, so he’s not only able to discern the overall vibe of a specific bed, but to contextualize its feel within the bed-in-a-box market as a whole.