Matcha addict downed 4 cups a day and ended up vomiting with zits and migraines
Isabella Wilson, 19, first tried the trendy drink in 2024 and it quickly became her favourite beverage. But buying a couple of matchas a week soon spiralled into an addiction which saw Isabella spend £2,000 in just one year
She would drink up to four a day(Image: Isabella Wilson / SWNS)
A woman’s “matcha addiction” saw her down up to four cups a day and spend £2,000 in just one year – before migraines, vomiting, acne and weight gain finally forced her to quit.
Isabella Wilson, 19, first tried the trendy drink in 2024 and it quickly became her favourite beverage. But buying a couple of matchas a week soon spiralled into an addiction which saw Isabella drink up to four a day.
The retail assistant – who went on to work as a matcha barista – was consuming up to 400mg of caffeine a day – the equivalent of five Redbulls.
It quickly became her favourite drink(Image: Isabella Wilson / SWNS)
Isabella, of Bolton, was sometimes unable to focus because matcha was always on her mind. She even began ordering discounted bags of matcha powder from a questionable seller on Vinted to ensure she always had a supply at home to satisfy her cravings.
Her year-long habit left her with severe daily migraines, nausea, vomiting and acne and she gained two stone. In January she cut down to two a week – and noticed within a matter of days her symptoms improved.
Which? data recently revealed high-street matchas have more caffeine than an espresso. Experts have warned high caffeine intake can not only cause anxiety and headaches, but matcha also affects the body’s ability to absorb iron due to the polyphenols.
She has now spoken out(Image: Isabella Wilson / SWNS)
Isabella said: “I remember I tried my friends matcha and thought ‘it’s not that bad’ – so I started having a few a week. Suddenly it was multiple matchas a day.
“I even ended up working in a coffee shop making matcha drinks, and I got free drinks on shift – so I was drinking matcha working there all day, and then drinking more when I got home. It got to the point it was quite scary – it occupied my thoughts completely.
“I’d be thinking about having my next matcha while I already had one in my hand. But the headaches – sometimes all I could do was sit in a dark room, and I was being sick once a week, and I’m hardly ever sick normally. It clicked when I saw a video about someone being hospitalised from matcha. I thought it was just a sickness bug and migraines.”
(Image: Isabella Wilson / SWNS)
Isabella first tried the drink in the summer of 2024. Her intake began to ramp up when more shops near her home began selling it – including a Starbucks and Greggs five minutes down the road.
She began buying £10 matcha bags from Tesco and tried to control the costs by setting herself a specific matcha money pot on her bank account – but noticed it becoming more difficult.
Isabella said: “I wasted an unbelievable amount of money. I actually found my own supplier. This person on Vinted, her parents bought her matcha and she didn’t have the heart to tell them she didn’t like it, so she re-sold it on Vinted.
“You’re not allowed to sell things like that on Vinted, so as soon as she uploaded a new one, she’d tell me so I could buy it before Vinted took it down. Looking back, who buys matcha from Vinted? It didn’t click to me how weird it was.”
She ended up getting a job working in a local coffee shop because they hired her on the spot – after a conversation with the manager about their matcha selection where Isabella showed her expertise.
Isabella would drink her matchas with oat milk along with sugar-filled white chocolate syrup, and began to notice worsening acne, alongside gaining some weight. Soon she was bloated and being sick most days, alongside battling intense migraines.
She said: “My headaches lasted a full day. I’d go to sleep with one and still have it when I woke up. I had medication and I wore glasses to try and get rid of them. When I would walk or move my head, it was like I could feel my brain, sort of, moving? I had tunnel vision, dizziness and foggy eyes too. I had always naturally had an hourglass figure, but I looked at myself one day and realised I was square. It was very upsetting.”
From January this year she began to associate the matcha with the bad side effects. She saw a video confirming her suspicions, and by March she had cut to just two a week.
And within a few weeks, her skin began to clear, the headaches and brain fog lifted, the nausea subsided and she began losing weight. But it wasn’t easy for Isabella – who suffered withdrawals as a result.
She said: “I know addiction is a strong term to use, but it was a truly unbelievable experience. You can’t really believe it unless you’ve been through it, I would feel dizzy, and matcha would be on my mind all the time.”
While Isabella never went cold-turkey, she’ll only drink it now once in a blue moon. She said: “I’ve started going to the gym and eat a proper diet now, and I’ve limited my caffeine.
“People really don’t talk about it enough, they think this is a magical drink that will fix them. It’s this cutesy clean girl drink that tastes nice, and a lot of people don’t even know it comes with health factors.”
