Woman, 19, says ‘matcha addiction’ saw her spend £2,000 and drink four cups a day

A 19-year-old woman says her love of matcha spiralled into a £2,000-a-year habit, with her drinking up to four cups a day before migraines, nausea, vomiting and acne forced her to cut back.

Isabella Wilson, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, first tried the trendy green drink in 2024 after a friend offered her some.

What started as a few cups a week quickly became a daily obsession, and at her peak Isabella says she was drinking as many as four matchas a day.

She later worked as a matcha barista, giving her even easier access to the drink, and estimates she was consuming up to 400mg of caffeine a day.

Isabella says the habit became so consuming that she would think about her next matcha even while she was drinking one.

She also began spending heavily on matcha powder, setting up a separate money pot in her bank account to try to keep track of the cost.

Eventually, she says she was spending around £2,000 over the course of a year.

Her attempts to maintain a supply even led her to buy discounted bags of matcha from a seller on Vinted.

Looking back, Isabella admits she now finds the arrangement bizarre.

“Who buys matcha from Vinted?” she said.

Alongside the growing habit came a string of symptoms.

Isabella says she developed severe headaches that could last an entire day, as well as dizziness, brain fog, tunnel vision, nausea and vomiting.

She also noticed worsening acne, bloating and weight gain.

The headaches became particularly difficult to deal with, with Isabella saying she sometimes had to sit in a dark room.

Eventually, she began to suspect that her matcha habit could be contributing to how she was feeling.

In January, she started cutting down and eventually reduced her intake to around two cups a week.

She says she noticed changes within weeks, including clearer skin, fewer headaches, less brain fog and an improvement in her nausea. She also began losing weight.

However, reducing her caffeine intake was not straightforward.

Isabella says she experienced withdrawal symptoms and found herself continuing to think about matcha.

She stopped short of quitting completely and now only drinks it occasionally.

She has also started going to the gym, eating a more balanced diet and limiting her overall caffeine intake.

Her experience comes as matcha continues to grow in popularity, with the drink often promoted online as a healthier alternative to coffee.

Isabella says she believes people should be more aware of caffeine levels and other factors associated with drinking large quantities.

“People really don't talk about it enough,” she said.

“They think this is a magical drink that will fix them.”

She added that its “cutesy clean girl” image can make it easy to overlook the fact that matcha still contains caffeine and that drinking large amounts may not suit everyone.