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Evaluate – Excuse my shaky hands… After a month of testing the Cytes Mini Espresso Maker, I have a caffeine jitter! This device quickly delivers coffee in multiple cup sizes from coffee sources. do i have a yard Got Nespresso pods? Did you get Dulce Gusto pods? Come in here. I understand. For review!
what is this?
Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker is an instant coffee maker that you can use with Nespresso pods, Dolce Gusto pods or your own ground coffee. You can make tea with it.
What’s in the box?
You will find the brewing unit, the stand, the water tank, the dispensing cup and the brewing units. You will also get a siphon tube that you can use to replace the water container (an additional water source is required).
Hardware details
- Compatible with Nespresso style pods, Dolce Gusto style pods and ground coffee (or tea).
- 19-bar pressure
- 1.8 m integrated coil heating wire
- Height 17.5 inches
Design and features
The Citus Mini Espresso Machine rocks a classy and elegant look. Here she is sitting at our cafe with her new friends, all cute and stuff.
Setup is a very simple process. Two silver rods are attached to the base. The back of the coffee maker slides over the studs on the bracket as shown below.
The water tank is then inserted into the upper part of the coffee maker. The reservoir has a rubber gasket to prevent leaks.
The water tank holds 300 ml of water. If you need a larger water source, Cyetus also offers a tubing system that you can use to connect the device to a water bottle.
When fully assembled, the Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker measures 17.5 inches tall with a 6-inch by 6-inch base, but it needs an additional front section to fill that top space. You’ll want to consider that when considering where to place the coffee maker in your kitchen. Going with the tube/bottle arrangement makes the height over 14 inches.
If you are using the water tank, now is the time to fill it. I used the closed cup to fill it, then unscrewed the lid in place.
You get three separate brewing units with your Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker. To the left is a room where ground coffee (or tea) is brewed. The middle part is for Nespresso pods. The right part is for Dolce Gusto pods. Each brewing unit is a solid piece of metal and plastic, as one would expect to support a 19-bar pressure brewing process. Note that Keurig-style pods will not work with this device.
The Nespresso and Dolte Gusto brewing units are simple. There is only one way to insert the pods, and attach the two halves together. Cytes includes a coffee clamp and rigging to install the ground coffee brewing unit. For that you need 12-15 grams of coffee (about two spoons).
You use a tamper to gently press the coffee into the chamber, then tap the tip to brew.
All brewing units are connected to the coffee maker in the same way: slide them into the slot under the unit until they are firmly seated.
There’s a locking lever on the side of the Citus Mini Espresso Maker to lock the brewing unit into place, and the unit beeps to let you know you’re connected. The lock engages with low pressure. If it doesn’t go in, don’t force it… go back and make sure the unit is added correctly. I noticed that sometimes I had to waver a bit because I didn’t really understand the part.
Now you choose your coffee amount. From below, you can choose a 45ml shot (espresso size), a 90ml shot (ristretto size) or a 160ml shot (“American coffee”). Press the button and turn it off!
The proprietary design uses a rapid heating and high pressure system to brew coffee in less than a minute. The exact times will vary depending on which source of coffee you use and how much you choose to drink.
We’ll get into the actual quality of the coffee in the performance section, but before we get there I want to touch on a few other design points here.
- The long, narrow design is good for saving counter space, but I noticed that the stand position feels a little awkward. It’s stable enough that we’ve used it for a month without a problem, but you’ll want to keep little hands out of reach. Due to its long/narrow profile and light weight, it can easily be folded.
- The brewing and brewing sections feel solid, but the secondary sections don’t feel very useful. The water tank, stand, drain plastic, lever and cup are made of thin plastic that looks like it can be used for a long time. Considering the price point of this device, I would like to see more useful materials.
- There is exactly 4 inches of space from the bottom of the brewing unit to the drip tray, so you won’t be using tall cups directly under the coffee maker. I don’t see this as an issue since you are brewing a small amount of coffee in the first place.
Configuration design hack
When I received the Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker, I noticed one major design problem. The power cord does not come out of the back of the unit, which means it interferes with your distribution point.
All instructions and documents show this way. That’s because the stand is made as one piece out of the box, and the plug doesn’t fit between the posts.
This lasted about a week before it drove me crazy. The rope continued my way. So I did the obvious thing: I loosened the screws connecting the base to the rods, pulled the cable, and then connected the rods to the base.
This is about 1000% better. No more fiddling with the power cord. I hope Cyetus will fix this in future updates. If you don’t, the hack is super easy.
Performance
The Cytes Mini Espresso Machine produces excellent coffee.
Let’s start with the ground coffee option. I’m using a relatively fine grind on this cup. It’s a 10 on the Baratza encore, which is the same rating I use for Aeropress. The pour amount is a full size “US” cup, which is just under 6 ounces for the finished product.
Here is a shot of the brewing process. If you look closely you will see a small leak in the front/center of the tub. I can see if my grind is too fine or too compressed, but it doesn’t affect the final product.
Here is the final trophy. The taste is very good, it has a smooth consistency and a rich taste. Cleaning the brewing room can be a little messy, which I expect. No matter what cup size I chose here, I felt that the finished cup was solid with the compound. I think a full size cup was the best option here, but I still play around with sizes just to be sure.
The next sample I will show you is a Nespresso pod, it pulls a 90 ml (restretto) shot. You can see the difference in the cream (that bubble on top). See how dark and thick it comes out of the machine…
… And here’s the finished cup, I was surprised to see that Nespresso beat the ground coffee by varying degrees of texture and taste. The flavor seemed to deepen, the final coffee had a heavy mouthfeel, and the crema was so thick that it left the sides of the glass. Just beautiful.
Finally we have the Dulci Gusto pods. I have never used these before; They resemble the beefier Keurig Pod in design. The cup used in this sample is a 45 ml (espresso) shot.
The creaminess on this one is a tad thicker than the ground coffee option, but nowhere near the luxurious thickness of the Nespresso option. I felt the texture and flavor of the finished cup was the weakest of the three options. That’s not to say it was bad at all…the mugs were still good and far better than the Keurig sitting on my desk. But the final cup is not as full of flavor and strength as a Nespresso or ground coffee method. I also found a slightly bitter taste on large cups. I don’t see that in espresso sized pulls.
Both the Nespresso and Dolce Gusto machines are easy to clean. Only remove the used pod, not the spent coffee grounds. But I noticed that the Dolce Gusto option drips. As the rest of the water passes through the pod, you will get residue for about a minute. I saw a bit of this on the ground coffee method (the grounds catch the extra liquid) and no residue on the Nespresso method.
I noticed that the temperature is not particularly hot. Cyetus claims that the rapid heating coils will get the water up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit as it circulates around the room. My experiments with different brewing methods have seen different finished temperatures depending on the final cup size. A full-cup (160 ml) recorded a final liquid temperature of 170 to 190 degrees, while an espresso shot (45 ml) was closer to 150 degrees.
In addition, the completion time varies according to the brewing method. Dolce Gusto pods are the fastest, with a time of 15-30 seconds for the finished cup, depending on the size. Ground coffee and Nespresso pods take longer for the pressure to force the water through the coffee, ranging from 25 seconds to 60 seconds depending on the cup size. This also explains the difference in richness of the finished product.
I repeat, I don’t think either option is bad here. Based on my testing over the past four weeks, however, I have made the Nespresso the best choice for this machine. It *just* edges out the coffee option for larger cups in my book, and it beats the field when it comes to pulling an espresso or latte.
Behind all this goodness there is one big caveat, but that’s the price. The Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker retails for under $180. That’s a lot of money for a unit that, in my opinion, could use some design improvements and materials for better durability.
my favorite
- A quick brewing method… less than a minute, no matter which option you choose
- Flexibility for different coffee sources and cup sizes
- Each style brings good taste
- Small table footprint
What should be improved?
- The low temperature of the finished product may not appeal to all coffee drinkers
- Some thin plastics and low-end materials in the construction
- A bit shaky – needs a bit more stability in the stand (keep away from children and pets)
- The cable setup out of the box is in the way – see my tips for fixing this
Final thoughts
Overall, there’s a lot to like about the Cyetus Mini Espresso Maker. It makes a surprisingly good shot of espresso (especially with Nespresso pods!) and great coffees all around. It’s fast, convenient, flexible, and has a small footprint on your shelf. After a month of testing and many (many) cups, I am very happy with this coffee maker.
But I see the price point on this coffee maker as an issue. The technology and flexibility to adapt to different pods is really unique in my experience, but I think it needs some design improvements to make it really great. And at this price point, I would expect to see better quality parts and materials to ensure that this unit will last a long time and withstand abuse.
Price: $179.10
Where to buyGo to the product page on the Cyetus website
SourceA sample of this product was provided by Cytus.
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