The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam is an Amazon bestseller, and while it's not going to be troubling our general best mattress ranking any time soon, we do consider it one of the best mattresses on Amazon (it's a bestseller there) as well as one of the best cheap mattresses around.
It has impressive user reviews, with people highlighting the comfort for the small price. A queen size Zinus Green Tea costs from $189 for the 6” version, with the tallest option, the 12”, priced $369 most months. Because it’s so affordable, comes in four different sizes and it delivers a surprisingly comfortable night’s sleep, the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam is well worth considering if you're on a tight budget.
On Amazon alone the Zinus Mattress has attracted over 132,000 user reviews, and over 70% of those are five-star ratings. But is the Zinus actually worth buying, or is it simply too basic to help you sleep well? Ahead of our official review being published, here’s what you need to know about the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam and whether you should buy it or not…
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: At a glance
Reasons for
- Very cheap, even for a Cal king
- Queen sizes start from $189
- Choice of four heights
Reasons against
- You can't remove the cover
- 6" and 8" versions are very firm
With prices starting from $149 for a 6” narrow twin, the Zinus is a budget friendly option that comes in four different widths: 6, 8, 10 and 12”. We wouldn’t recommend the 6” or 8” for adults to sleep on full-time as they’re just too thin to be supportive and to relieve pressure, but they could be ideal for use in an RV or even as an occasional mattress that you pull out for unexpected guests.
Type: Memory Foam
Trial Period: 100 days
Warranty: 10 years, limited
Price: $198 – $378 (10”), (RRP)
Height: 6, 8, 10, 12"
Firmness (1-10): 6.5 (Medium Firm)
User Review Rating: 4.4/5
The Zinus has earned itself a spot in our best memory foam mattress guide, thanks to its super-low price. We rate its ability to isolate motion and offer decent edge support (so you can get in and out of bed easier). However it isn’t with fault, as it does retain heat compared to more breathable mattresses such as hybrids.
For clarity, we’re looking specifically at the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam 10” because it’s the most popular model and we want to help you figure out if it’s good value or not.
Made from a combination of memory foam infused with green tea and purified charcoal, comfort foam and high-density base foam, the Zinus is a classic all-foam mattress. It offers surprisingly good pressure relief, support and spinal alignment and is a good choice for back and side sleepers.
Stomach sleepers may find the bed doesn’t support them adequately though. Despite the purified charcoal, it will retain some body heat so we wouldn’t recommend it if you sleep hot. Instead, we’d recommend the Nectar, which is better at regulating temperature. Take a look at our Nectar Mattress review to learn more about its breathable feel.
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: Materials
- Three layers of comfort and support foam
- Green Tea-infused foam for freshness
- ActivCharcoal infusion for a cooler feel
The Zinus uses three different types of foam in its mattress to provide pressure relief and spinal alignment. At the top is a 2.5” layer of memory foam, infused with green tea and ActivCharcoal. These aid circulation and freshness, whilst the memory foam cradles the body and relieves pressure.
Underneath this is a 2” layer of comfort foam, designed to support the body and stop it from sinking too far into the memory foam. At the bottom is a 5.5” layer of high-density base memory foam. This provides the structure and support for the bed and helps to keep it stable while you sleep.
There are also pockets cut into the foam to encourage airflow. The mattress is wrapped up in a thin polyester cover. All three foams used in the mattress are CertiPUR certified, meaning they’re free from harmful chemicals and heavy metals, as well as being environmentally friendly. This is impressive considering it’s such a cheap mattress.
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: Prices
- One of the cheapest memory foam beds you'll find
- A queen size starts from just $168
- Undercuts its budget rivals by over $50
The price of the Zinus Green Tea positions it squarely in the budget mattress in a box market. Here’s the starting pricing and the maximum price for each of the most common sizes, depending on whether you opt for the 6”, 8”, 10” or 12” version:
- Twin RRP: from $118 to $398
- Full RRP: from $168 to $319
- Queen RRP: from $168 to $368
- King RRP: from $208 to $408
- Cal king: from $239 to $598
The Zinus website offers a larger range of sizes compared to what you’ll find on Amazon, with options to buy a twin XL and a short queen. Frustratingly, you can't shop directly with Zinus - the brand sends you straight off to its store on Amazon. The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam often sells out there, so you may not always get the size you want in the depth of mattress that you want.
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: Firmness
- Range of firmness levels from plush to firm
- Users rate its surprisingly high comfort levels
- Contouring comfort with the 10" and 12" versions
Although the Zinus delivers the contouring hug you’d expect from memory foam, the 10” version is on the firmer side of medium firm. We’d therefore suggest trying the 12” version for a slightly softer feel, and especially if you’re a lighter weight side sleeper. However, we think the Zinus Green Tea mattress is a great choice for side and back sleepers, despite its slightly firmer feel.
This is because it does an excellent job of promoting neutral spinal alignment, whilst also cradling the neck, shoulders and hips. You’ll still ‘sink’ into the mattress, with the foam contouring to the body to provide a supportive night’s sleep. For such a cheap mattress there’s excellent pressure relief, but stomach sleepers may not feel supported enough.
Motion transfer is minimal here because of the memory foam, so this is an excellent choice if you’re a light sleeper or share a bed with a restless sleeper. Keep in mind that some foams do sleep hotter than others, and that memory foam also makes it a little difficult to change position at night, so hot sleepers who switch between positions should look elsewhere.
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress: Reviews
There are over 132,000 user reviews of the Zinus Green Tea mattress and counting, and over 70% of those rate it at 5 out of 5 stars. One reviewer even declared it the “Oprah of beds”. There’s a lot of praise for how comfortable it is considering it’s just a three-layer memory foam mattress without any of the bells and whistles of more expensive boxed beds.
Some user reviews focus on how it relieves pressure points, leading to less pain in areas such as the back and hips. For others they review the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress highly for comfort in various sleeping positions, with some saying it has cured their restlessness.
It isn’t all positive though, and there’s one big caveat with the Zinus Green Tea mattress, as one reviewer warns: do not unzip the mattress cover otherwise fiberglass shards might be released into your home. If that happens, you’ll have to spend a lot of time and money clearing it up. That’s also why Zinus explicitly says not to unzip the mattress cover and advises spot cleaning only. So it’s utterly bizarre that the company would add a zip to the cover - that’s just inviting trouble.
Should you buy the Zinus Green Tea mattress?
If you’re on a tight budget with your main bed or need a comfortable yet cheap mattress for your guest room, the Zinus is a great choice for the majority of people and scenarios. It’s affordable yet still manages to deliver high levels of support and comfort. It won't come close to the luxury feel of a premium hybrid such as the Saatva Classic (read our Saatva Classic mattress review of America's highest-rated bed), but it's a good choice for not much money.
The Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam is ideally suited to side and back sleepers, providing high levels of pressure relief, as well as the expected contouring ‘hug’ from the memory foam. It’s also an excellent choice for couples, with superb motion isolation. You won’t be woken up by your partner moving about at night, or by slight movements if you’re a light sleeper.
As we’ve mentioned in the review, stomach sleepers probably won’t feel supported enough by the Zinus, and combo sleepers could find it hard to move positions with the top layer of memory foam. And those who sleep hot will find that it does little to cool them down at night.
You should also never remove the cover on the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress otherwise you’ll risk fibreglass shards being released into your home. These will be costly and timely to clean up, so don’t unzip the cover. If you’re concerned, then look at another affordable mattress that doesn’t use fibreglass as part of its fire barrier.
That aside, it’s hard to argue with the fantastic price of the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam mattress, especially considering how supportive and comfortable most people find it to be. For smaller budgets, take a look at our best mattress toppers guide for boosting your in-bed comfort for less.
Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress: Competitors
This is another good budget offering with a range of comfort options from plush to firm, meaning you can tailor the mattress to your individual sleeping style. Side sleeper? Choose the plush version to sink in and support your shoulders and hips. The firmer version might better for back pain relief. The Lucid 10-Inch Gel Foam also does a good job of keeping sleepers cool, thanks to a layer of cooling gel foam followed by a layer of bamboo charcoal foam to wick away sweat.
Another good mattress at a basement price, the Allswell Hybrid Mattress combines charcoal and copper gel infused memory foam with individually wrapped coils for a bouncier bed that should keep hot sleepers feeling a little more cool and comfortable. Like the Lucid above, it will also wick away sweat to a degree. The Allswell is is highly rated for back sleepers who claim it does a good job of easing aches and pains when they're resting on the bed for hours at a time.
