While luteola is a smallish cat it is not the smallest by far. Cattleya itsy bitsy one of Fred Clarke’s creations is much smaller

Approximately 4 years after now ..... heheh .... one quite nice compact kind of mini-catt type is Rth. Dal's Emperor

A note... in the years since the original post, Sophronitis and the Brazillian Laelias (including the little rupiculous Laelias, and the Hadrolaelia group with flowers as big as the plant) have been classified as Cattleya. So what used to be an Slc or an Sl (so that one can make an intelligent guess from the name) is now a Cattleya... doesn't make it easy to figure out what's "mini", now a research project to figure out the parentage and the characteristics of each ancestor of a hybrid. Or, just go to a trusted grower like Sunset Valley Orchids who does their own hybridizing, specializes in the minis, and can clearly identify what can be expected.

I haven't read all the recommendations yet but I can't sing more praises than for Cattleya (Laelia) praestans. I grow mine in S/H and before I neglected it (health issues) it has consistently bloomed 3-4 times a year and the flowers last a pretty long time (6ish weeks?).

It's also a miniature with very large flowers comparatively.

How am I supposed to stop buying orchids when there are just so many amazing plants out there. Can you please tell me its not fragrant so I can move on? lol