Some time ago I watched a video on YouTube of Mark Prince demonstrating some advanced press pot technique. you can watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfN116i4mVg. the basic premise is that after extraction is complete (3:30min) you scoop off the grounds and bloom as you do when cupping. I was very intrigued by this and liked the results as it yielded a cleaner cup and the pot could sit longer without turning sour and over extracted.
Since nobody in specialty coffee is ever happy to leave well enough alone i decided to try taking it a step further. (no doubt someone else has tried this before but it's new to me) so i took the lid off and put the screen on the bottom with ground coffee on top of it. then I add the water and let it extract for 3:30 min. After extraction is complete I (very carefully as not to spill scalding coffee all over the place) pull up the screen. The vacuum created while pulling up the screen produces a cool effect, it compresses the coffee into a neat cake.
The result of this method is a very clean cup and extensive press longevity. it's kinda like a clover except cheaper and not monopolized by Starbucks.
so if your interested please give this a try and let me know what effects on taste and aroma you notice. i'm going to keep playing with it to determine pros and cons associated with the method.
attached are some pictures of the cake after it's removed from the press.
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