Four Kilo Fish Coffee Roasters - Where Melbourne’s coffee scene meets the mountains of Yunnan

They’re changing the game, and we’re here for it! This November, we caught up with Four Kilo Fish Coffee Roasters to learn what makes their coffee beans so unique and oh-so-delicious!

Let your tastebuds embark on an 8,000-kilometre journey to Yunnan — a diverse, mountainous province in China where unique terrain and microclimates have long supported the cultivation of both tea and coffee. Today, Yunnan produces more than 99% of China’s coffee, and thanks to Four Kilo Fish founders Sijin Yu and Yi Chen, the distinctive flavours of their hometown can now be experienced in Melbourne’s vibrant coffee scene.

In 2018, Four Kilo Fish Coffee Roasters became the first to introduce Chinese specialty coffee to the city. At the time, few people knew China produced coffee, and Sijin and Yi questioned how customers would respond to flavours so different from the familiar Latin American and African varieties they knew. Yet Yunnan’s elevated terrain and unique climate provides the perfect conditions for slow maturation and ripening of the coffee cherries, giving the beans a tea-like sweetness and fruity complexity that quickly set them apart.

The founders’ success comes from a hands-on approach — sourcing directly from farms in their hometown, overseeing every step of the export and import process, and roasting the beans locally. With inventive specialty brews and Yunnan-inspired dishes, Four Kilo Fish bridges Melbourne’s café culture with Chinese heritage, inviting locals to discover a rare and exciting change to their favourite drink.

@fourkilofish

fourkilofish.com.au

THE INTERVIEW

This month, we sat down with Four Kilo Fish founders, Sijin Yu and Yi Chen, to delve into their journey of putting Chinese coffee on the map in Australia’s coffee capital—and how meaningful connections with their producers and community continue to fuel their passion and success.

Tell us about you. What’s your coffee background? 

We are coffee importers, roasters, brewers, and breakfast cooks.

We focus on specialty coffee from Yunnan, China. We source directly from the farms we work with at the origin, selecting specific lots ourselves. We roast them in-house locally at a shared roastery — Criteria Coffee. We also run our own cafés — one in Hawthorn, and another soon to open in Melbourne’s CBD. We also are involved in processing experiments together with farmers, applying techniques from other coffee origins that have been proven to enhance flavours. At the café, we also serve fusion brunch inspired by our homeland flavours. 

How did the brand/project get started? Talk us through the process and challenges.

The brand began with a simple goal: to introduce Yunnan coffee to Melbourne. Both of us — Yi and Sijin— were born and raised in Yunnan. When we first came to Melbourne, the world’s coffee capital, we noticed there was no trace of Yunnan coffee. Most people, even within the coffee industry, had no idea that China produces coffee. Those who had heard of it had never actually tried it.

Starting out was not easy. Every step was a challenge: choosing which lots to buy, figuring out how to import them to Australia, roasting them properly, and — most of all — not knowing whether customers would accept flavours so different from the Latin American or African coffees they were used to.

Where did the name come from?

The name Four Kilo Fish comes from a play on co-founder Sijin’s name. In Chinese, “sijin yu” (四斤鱼, literally “four kilo fish”) sounds like her name. In our team, Sijin leads roasting and green coffee buying.

Tell us about you. What’s your coffee background? 

We are coffee importers, roasters, brewers, and breakfast cooks.

We focus on specialty coffee from Yunnan, China. We source directly from the farms we work with at the origin, selecting specific lots ourselves. We roast them in-house locally at a shared roastery — Criteria Coffee. We also run our own cafés — one in Hawthorn, and another soon to open in Melbourne’s CBD. We also are involved in processing experiments together with farmers, applying techniques from other coffee origins that have been proven to enhance flavours. At the café, we also serve fusion brunch inspired by our homeland flavours. 

What has it been like building direct relationships with producers in Yunnan? Any stories that stand out?

Relationships take time. Trust grows step by step. Farmers and producers focus on production; we bring market and consumer insights. What they choose to do in processing is closely tied to what we share about market preferences. Each year, with the same cherries, they might emphasise different flavours or fermentation styles depending on what consumers are seeking.

For us, direct relationships mean we can ask for custom processes or small experimental lots. Even if it is a method they have never tried before, producers are often willing to support us and make it happen.

How have you seen Chinese coffee change or develop since you started working directly with producers?

Since 2018, the year we started the business, the story of Yunnan coffee has changed dramatically. Back then, coffee was mostly treated as a bulk commodity. Prices were low, farmers had little confidence, and many even cut down their coffee trees to plant other crops just to survive. Quality wasn’t the focus — it was all about selling raw beans in volume.

Over the past few years, that has shifted. More farms have invested in better equipment, new varieties, and improved processing methods. As a result, both the quality and the reputation of Yunnan’s specialty coffee have grown year after year, especially in core regions like Pu’er, Baoshan and Lincang. With greater attention from buyers, capital, and talent, Yunnan coffee has started to earn real recognition. And for the farmers, this transformation has not just changed their crops - it has also improved their livelihoods and renewed their sense of pride in growing coffee.

What are you looking forward to in the coffee industry at the moment? Any cool trends we should keep our eye on?

Fermentation in coffee. 

As everyone knows, the wine industry is far more mature than coffee in this area - there is much more research and technical knowledge about wine fermentation than there is about coffee. The trend now is that coffee producers are increasingly borrowing ideas and techniques from winemaking. It is a fascinating crossover, and one we are excited to keep exploring.

THE COFFEE

Filter Coffee:

Tian Yu

Tian Yu comes from one of Yunnan’s top coffee producers. Its award-winning beans have even represented Yunnan coffee at the United Nations. Ye Ping draws on her deep understanding of the region’s terrain, making traditional natural processing her specialty.

Espresso Coffee:

Four Kilo Fish House Blend

A reliable flavour that’s unmistakably Four Kilo Fish. Made entirely from Yunnan coffee grown in Pu’er and Baoshan, this medium-roast espresso blend is crafted for everyday enjoyment. It combines three components — a washed lot, an anaerobic wash, and an anaerobic natural — to create a versatile coffee that’s balanced and comforting, whether served black or with milk.