3rd-floor terrace with hot air balloon and village view: Caffeine

With that autumn sunlight in the air these days, anyone from Suwon probably thinks naturally of walking the Hwaseong Fortress wall. Today I remembered the fortress path near Changnyongmun Gate, so I went to a café with a gorgeous fortress view.

A café with a fortress view where you can see a hot air balloon right outside, plus house-baked ciabatta

Caffeine Focus location and business info

• Location: Near Changnyongdae-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi (near Changnyongmun Gate)
• Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–20:00
• Closed: Every Wednesday
• Parking: Use the Changnyongmun public parking lot, 3–5 minutes on foot. On-site parking is limited (on quiet weekdays you may be able to park in front of the café)
• Floor layout: 1F order counter + bakery / 2F indoor seating / 3F terrace (fortress view + village view)

The exterior and the 1st-floor terrace vibe

The café I first encountered was a clean, renovated three-story house.

Hydrangeas were blooming wildly at the entrance, and a cool breeze put me in a good mood. Haha.

This is the scenery from the 1st-floor terrace. On a cool day, having coffee outside here would be nice too :)

1st floor — ordering freshly baked bread and coffee

Walking in through the 1st-floor entrance, freshly baked bread and the order counter are right there. Ciabatta by the variety, fully stocked. Egg scones and banana muffins too~~ Caffeine Focus is a three-story building, but each floor is fairly small, so we ordered bread and coffee on the 1st floor and went straight up to the 2nd.

2nd floor — village view on the opposite side of the fortress

On the 2nd floor you see the side opposite the fortress wall, a quiet, peaceful village view.

There are about 6 clean, pretty tables, and you also get a small floor-to-ceiling window view.

3rd floor interior and terrace — fortress view with a hot air balloon

Coming up to the 3rd floor, the fortress view through the window is just stunning. This is exactly why I came here, haha. This is the reason for visiting Caffeine Focus.

The hot air balloon floating in the sky was so atmospheric and healing. Ahh~ this is nice, ha.

But there was one more thing I loved the moment I stepped onto the 3rd-floor terrace. Once you go out to the terrace, an open village view appears, and it was so beautiful. I only expected the fortress view, but this was really wonderful. So good.

What we ordered and Caffeine Focus menu prices

Einspänner ₩6,800 / Vanilla bean latte ₩6,500 / Egg scone ₩4,500 / Banana muffin (vegan) ₩3,800

Signature

• Avocado coffee ₩7,500
• Ube cream matcha latte ₩7,500

Coffee

• Americano ₩5,500
• Café latte ₩6,000
• Einspänner ₩6,800
• Butter cream latte ₩7,000
• Vanilla bean latte ₩6,500

Non-coffee

• Matcha latte ₩6,300
• Ube latte ₩6,300
• Coconut matcha cloud ₩6,500
• Coconut ube cloud ₩6,500
• Strawberry latte ₩6,300
• Chocolate latte ₩6,300

Ade & smoothies

• Lemon ade ₩5,500
• Red grapefruit ade ₩5,500
• Yuzu ade ₩5,500
• Energy ade ₩5,500
• Strawberry yogurt smoothie ₩7,000
• Blueberry yogurt smoothie ₩7,000

Food & bakery

• Ciabatta sandwich (basil pesto, fresh tomato, arugula, jambon, mozzarella cheese) ₩14,000
• Levain cheese squid-ink ciabatta ₩5,300
• Cardamom granola Greek yogurt bowl ₩5,800
• Egg scone ₩4,500
• Carrot pound cake ₩4,000
• Banana muffin (vegan) ₩3,800

I wanted something sweet so I ordered a whole bunch, haha. The vanilla bean latte was rich and sweet, and the einspänner had a thick layer of cream — the combination of cream and coffee was really good. The egg scone and banana muffin had a strong banana aroma too and were tasty.

My honest review of Caffeine Focus

A space where the Hwaseong Fortress wall stretches out to the east and the Haenggung-dong village comes into view to the west. If you're looking for a fortress-view café in Hwaseong, Suwon, Caffeine Focus is a real recommendation!! It has a charm all its own compared to the fortress-view cafés in Haenggung-dong, and with bakery quality added on top, it's just great.