Busan tea café comparing iced and warm tea: Suwolgyeonghwa, Songjeong

I'd been looking for a spot to enjoy a relaxed cup of tea with a sea view, and Suwolgyeonghwa (수월경화) really stood out — beautiful ocean view paired with a traditional atmosphere. What I especially liked, unlike a typical café, was that you get to enjoy tea alongside dasik (traditional Korean tea snacks).

On this visit I tried both the Hyeonwol-hoji and Melon-mangs teas, and also ordered the Dalbodeure dessert set. Let me walk you through everything from the vibe at this Busan ocean-view café to the tea and dessert menu, based on my actual visit. ☕🌊

Suwolgyeonghwa location, hours and parking

Suwolgyeonghwa is an ocean-view traditional tea café located on the 4th floor at 188 Songjeong-jungang-ro 6beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan. It's open daily from 11:00 to 23:00, with last order at 22:30.

• 📍Location: 188 Songjeong-jungang-ro 6beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 4th floor
• ⏰Hours: Daily 11:00–23:00 / last order 22:30
• 🚗Parking: Only available under the building; the lot directly across the street is a separate private lot (spaces with numbers painted in front are that private lot — it's not affiliated with Suwolgyeonghwa)
• 💳Dongbaekjeon accepted

What the Suwolgyeonghwa building looks like from outside

This Busan ocean-view café is said to embody the meaning of 'suwolgyeonghwa' — 'the moon reflected in water, a flower reflected in a mirror' — blending hanok sensibility with a calm atmosphere.

Inside Suwolgyeonghwa: 3rd floor vs 4th floor

There was a photo zone right from the entrance, and the inside used a combination of wood and white to bring out a Korean aesthetic.

Through the window you could see the Songjeong sea and a train passing by — the view was gorgeous. Plenty of foreign visitors were there too.

This Busan ocean-view café operates across the 3rd and 4th floors, and I used the 4th floor — but personally I thought the 3rd floor had a really nice, different vibe from the 4th. If the 4th floor was all about openness, the 3rd floor felt more like it was going for coziness. There were even floor seats on the 3rd floor where you take your shoes off.

Suwolgyeonghwa menu and the two teas ordered

The Suwolgyeonghwa menu is broadly divided into premium tea, coffee, traditional tea, and tarak tea. I normally love milk tea, but at this Busan ocean-view café I decided to go with a premium tea instead.

• Hyeonwol-hoji
• Melon-mangs
• Dalbodeure dessert set

I snapped a photo of the tray of tea and dasik with the sea view in the background. Just so you know, it's a self-serve system — you pick up your own tray.

They served it this way so you could enjoy the aroma of the steeped tea leaves.

Iced Melon-mangs: how the melon tea tastes

Melon-mangs had a pale yellow color, and since it's described as having a melon scent, I ordered it iced.

It had a sweet melon aroma and a slightly more bitter taste than the Hyeonwol-hoji. The scent being melon-like doesn't mean the flavor itself is sweet! I found it more bitter than the hoji and actually preferred the hoji, but my boyfriend, who came with me, liked the Melon-mangs more.

Since it has a melon scent, it felt like the kind of tea you'd want in summer, and the iced version really suits that aroma — I'd recommend it if you're wondering what to drink in summer.

Warm Hyeonwol-hoji: how the roasted tea tastes

I ordered the warm version of Hyeonwol-hoji, and unlike Melon-mangs, it had a deep brown color.

Just as described, it had a nutty, smoky aroma, and unlike Melon-mangs, it wasn't bitter. I found Hyeonwol-hoji smoother going down and more fragrant/nutty than Melon-mangs — more to my taste.

They said stevia is used instead of sugar for the brown sugar sweetness, but I couldn't really tell it wasn't sweet enough for me to notice the stevia. I like nutty teas, so this suited my palate well — I'd recommend it for fall or winter.

What comes in the Dalbodeure tray of five tea snacks?

The Suwolgyeonghwa Dalbodeure dessert set consisted of gim (seaweed) roe financier, red bean anbutter monaka, ganache monaka, black rice sulbbang, and an injeolmi (sweet rice cake) skewer.

Gim roe financier — I assumed only the topping had gim (dried seaweed) on it, but you could taste gim inside the financier too, so it seems it was mixed into the batter as well. A sweet dessert with a hint of sea flavor. Personally I'm not a big fan of gim... so I prefer a plain financier. But it was nice to try something unique.

Red bean anbutter monaka — the white grains on top were super crispy and nutty. It was packed with red bean too, but not too sweet, and it paired well with the butter.

Ganache monaka — it said it was made with French chocolate, and it really was very sweet, so I ate it in small bites haha. But the ganache itself was genuinely smooth and delicious. It felt like it would pair really well with a bitter tea. The nuts on top were nutty and worked well with the ganache.

Black rice sulbbang (steamed rice cake) — this one had no red bean inside! It had a slight makgeolli (rice wine) aroma and a chewy texture.

Injeolmi skewer — the injeolmi had a bit of honey on it, and it tasted exactly like you'd expect. Delicious.

Which tea snack paired best with the tea

Personally, the dasik that paired best with the tea were the red bean anbutter monaka and the injeolmi. The one that stuck in my memory was the ganache monaka, which was the sweetest. If you want to enjoy a pretty view along with tasty tea and dasik, I'd recommend Suwolgyeonghwa (188 Songjeong-jungang-ro 6beon-gil, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 4th floor).