Summary: We chose the Grateful Eight Organic Latex Mattress from Essentia for our guest room—for friends and family, but also as the bed my husband uses to sleep during the day after his shift as a firefighter. It’s a performance-focused mattress designed to balance support, pressure relief, and temperature regulation. It’s supportive without feeling hard or overly firm, with that rare “soft like a hug” feel without the deep sink of traditional memory foam. The organic and nontoxic certifications really set it apart.

What I Love

• The Grateful Eight feels firm and supportive while still feeling soft and comfortable. It’s responsive rather than sink-in, so you get support without feeling stuck in the mattress.
• The all-latex construction has very little bounce and doesn’t retain much warmth, making it a great option if you tend to sleep hot or live in a warm climate.
• Essentia manufactures its latex in its own GOLS- and GOTS-certified facility in Quebec, and the Grateful Eight uses three layers of GOLS-certified organic latex and an organic cotton cover.
• The mattress comes in Twin through King sizes and starts at $1,999, with a 120-night trial and 20-year limited warranty.

Things To Note

• The mattress arrives compressed in a box, and getting it set up was more labor-intensive than expected because of the tight packaging. We needed two people to maneuver it into place, and the unboxing itself was surprisingly loud (though the packaging is more sustainable than plastic, so that’s a win).
• The Grateful Eight is a medium-firm mattress, so while it feels surprisingly soft and cushioned, it may not be the right fit if you prefer a very plush, sink-in mattress.

This past summer, my tiny (growing!) family was fortunate enough to buy a home, albeit one that needs a ton of work. It’s from the ’50s, and as I write this, I’m drowning out the construction noise while the stucco is jackhammered off the walls and we replace things like gutters and rotting fence posts in preparation for an El Niño winter. All that aside, I’m truly grateful to be in this space.

One of the biggest perks of becoming a homeowner is that we now have a dedicated guest room that is truly only a guest room. It’s not a hybrid office or nursery like before (have you ever tried fitting a daybed next to a crib next to your desk in one 10×10 room?). Now we have a space for when friends and family come to town, which will be especially useful when we welcome baby number two this winter.

“One of the biggest perks of becoming a homeowner is that we now have a dedicated guest room that is truly only a guest room.”

On the daily, though, the guest room has become a huge perk because my husband is a firefighter and works long, sleepless shifts. In the past, he’d stay at the fire station to sleep or would crash on our bed while I worked at my desk in the dark so our daughter could have the nursery for her naps during the day. So when we found out our offer had been accepted, it was a huge relief to realize my husband would finally have a room to sleep without disruption.

Side note: A 2026 study of firefighters found that sleep quantity and quality varied by shift schedule, with firefighters on some schedules getting less sleep and many across all schedules falling short of recommended sleep amounts. The 2026 firefighter sleep study found that shift schedules were associated with differences in both sleep duration and quality. NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) also lists shift work, sleep disruption, and exposure to chemicals in smoke and debris among the occupational hazards firefighters face.

Now that my husband is in his 40s, we’re increasingly unwilling to compromise on good sleep, especially when we know how important consistent, restorative sleep is to overall health and recovery. The same goes for the mattress and bedding he sleeps on. Because he’s regularly exposed to smoke, chemicals, and other occupational hazards at work, choosing materials for our home that feel as clean and thoughtfully made as possible is a non-negotiable. That’s why we chose to try the Grateful Eight Organic Latex Mattress from Essentia.

About Essentia

Essentia was founded in 2005 by Jack Dell’Accio and has spent nearly two decades developing and manufacturing its own latex foam mattresses. The company makes its organic mattresses in Laval, Quebec, in a facility certified to both the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) and the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Essentia says it sources its raw materials and mixes them on-site rather than outsourcing its foam layers.

“Essentia says it sources its raw materials and mixes them on-site rather than outsourcing its foam layers.”

The certifications are one of the biggest reasons I was interested in the brand in the first place. “Organic” and “natural” can mean a lot of things in the mattress world, but GOLS and GOTS are third-party certifications with specific standards.

The Grateful Eight uses GOLS-certified organic latex, which Essentia says is made with at least 95% certified organic raw material, along with a GOTS-certified organic cotton cover. Both certifications are independently verified by Control Union.

Trying out the Grateful Eight mattress

The Grateful Eight is Essentia’s flagship organic latex mattress, with three layers of organic latex. This means no springs, polyurethane foam, wool, or fiber batting. Instead, the mattress has a removable GOTS-certified organic cotton cover, followed by a Kevlar fabric liner (a natural fire-retardant layer). The mattress is 8 inches tall and has a medium feel.

Essentia also has a proprietary “Zero Gravity Organic Latex Foam,” which is designed to give the mattress the contouring and pressure relief of foam while maintaining the responsive feel of latex. Another cool fact: the company claims Johns Hopkins School of Medicine independently tested its latex for dust-mite resistance. Pretty cool!

Unpacking the Grateful Eight mattress

Gone are the days of mattress showrooms and Saturdays spent bouncing on beds — we truly live in an era where mattresses can be delivered straight to your doorstep, even organic, high-quality ones!

“We truly live in an era where mattresses can be delivered straight to your doorstep, even organic, high-quality ones! “

The Grateful Eight arrived compressed and rolled in a compact box. It was heavy but manageable, even with me being six months pregnant. We brought it into the guest room and set it up on our new Cozey bed frame, which I also want to share because I love it so much more than I expected. The Ara Bed has removable, washable covers and was so simple to assemble. While the fabric is polyester, we like that the covers can be removed and washed, and that the price point is within reason.

We wanted something straightforward that could support our new mattress while putting our material priorities and budget toward the things we’re actually sleeping on, including the Essentia mattress and our Sijo bedding. So shoutout to them if you need a bedframe!

Back to the mattress: This is where the adventure began. I’ve tested a few mattresses in my decade as a commerce editor, and Essentia takes the cake for packaging that’s hard to unravel. The mattress is wrapped in a 50/50 blend of craft paper and recyclable plastic to keep it tightly compressed inside the box. Five stars for sustainability but zero stars for noise and chaos. We needed two people, and it sounded like a thunderstorm in the bedroom as we worked our way through the wrapping. I wouldn’t say it was annoying, but keep it in mind if you have pets or a baby sleeping.

But is the Essentia mattress comfortable?

Once that was done, the mattress unrolled easily and flopped right onto the bed frame — as did we! One of my favorite things about organic and nontoxic mattresses is that they don’t have a chemical smell. Instead, this one smelled earthy and natural, and our toddler immediately crawled over and said, “Up, up, up,” so she could join us.

In terms of comfort, I love how latex is firm and supportive but still soft enough to feel comfortable. You get some of that “hug” from foam, but it’s much more responsive than traditional memory foam, so you don’t feel like you’re sinking into the mattress.

“It’s much more responsive than traditional memory foam, so you don’t feel like you’re sinking into the mattress.”

It’s also less “bouncy” than other materials. Consumer Reports independently tested the Grateful Eight and found that it resists bounciness, allows easy movement, and doesn’t retain much warmth — essential, since my husband is a hot sleeper.

Final thoughts: Why I recommend Essentia’s Grateful Eight mattress

Overall, the Grateful Eight has been a great addition to our new guest room and, more importantly, has given my husband a dedicated place to actually rest when he comes home from work.

What I appreciate most is that Essentia gives you a lot of specifics to back up its material claims. The mattress uses GOLS-certified organic latex and a GOTS-certified organic cotton cover, is manufactured in Essentia’s own GOLS- and GOTS-certified facility, and skips polyurethane foam, springs, wool, and fiber batting. The Kevlar fire barrier is also a thoughtful alternative to chemical flame-retardant treatments.

“What I appreciate most is that Essentia gives you a lot of specifics to back up its material claims.”

As for price, the Grateful Eight starts at $1,999 and is available in Twin through King sizes. It comes with free shipping, a 120-night sleep trial, and a 20-year limited warranty. The sleep trial does have a 9% retail-price fee if you return or exchange the mattress, which is worth knowing before ordering.

For our family, that combination of thoughtful materials, meaningful third-party certifications, and a genuinely comfortable mattress is what makes it stand out and the perfect fit for us.

Kayti Christian is a Senior Content Strategist at The Good Trade. With an MFA in Nonfiction Creative Writing, her work has appeared in TODAY, Shondaland, and The New York Times. Since 2017, Kayti has been uncovering and reviewing the best sustainable home brands and wellness products. Her personal journey through four years of fertility treatments has inspired her to write extensively about women’s healthcare and reproductive access. Beyond her work at The Good Trade, Kayti is the creator of phone notes, a Substack newsletter with 7,000 subscribers, and the cohost of the FriedEggs Podcast, which delves into IVF and infertility.