The world is full of fads, and the coffee world is no different. The Clover was expensive, revolutionary, elite, and fancy. Almost everyone in third-wave coffee fell for it, and they fell hard. I don't mean to be too critical of the unit itself; I mean to be critical of the people who praised it endlessly as the salvation of coffee, only to turn their backs on it and thumb their noses at it starting the day Starbucks bought it. Or, at the very least, they've gone dead silent, as if even mentioning it now would be to call attention to their trending ways. If the coffee tasted so wonderful then, why doesn't it tastes so wonderful now? It's a problem I have with the coffee industry: the taste of coffee is too often more directly associated with the brand of equipment that produces the brew than the flavor in the cup. Some of the largest proponents from before are now quiet, or else exploring the next fad (vac pot, pour over, etc.).
As to the Clover, I like the coffee from it. I think it's a quick and easy way to make a good cup of coffee. I never had a problem with too many fines (but, hey, I like French press coffee). Some people discovered--with the aid of ExtractMojo, I think--that it needed a larger dose to get into that Gold Cup zone. When my local coffee shop started uppping the dose, I had to start adding water to tone it down.
Is it worth $11K? Definitely not. But a couple thousand dollars should be okay. However, I think an inverted AeroPress with a fine screen and something to insulate it a bit would also do the trick.