Eric Richardson [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Times today profiles the Clover coffee maker at Groundwork's new location in the Higgins Building (2nd & Main).

The Clover a cup-at-a-time specialty coffee brewer, and for the moment it is the only one in LA. Each machine costs $11,000 and at the moment there are only 80 worldwide.

Drip coffee is getting a serious upgrade, thanks to a new machine called the Clover. A high-tech gadget that looks like a cross between a water cooler and a microwave (and it's the size of a small one), the Clover brews a single cup of coffee at a time, to order, through a process that allows the barista to adjust the brewing to fit the flavor profile of specific lots of coffee.

Coffee brewed in the Clover has the depth of flavor of a French-press brew with none of the sediment; it has a clarity and focus, even an elegance, that you just don't experience with other brewing methods.

Sounds interesting enough to take a trip up the street and check it out.