The rawness of puerh tea* is a quality that is representative of the natural state of the leaf. At its most basic and unprocessed form, chewing a freshly picked tea leaf delivers fresh green, vibrant, bitter notes. This base is the foundation for supporting the microbial activity and development under post-fermentation. The processing of traditional puerh tea in the past has always tried to preserve the rawness of puerh tea. Historically for a long time, drinking young puerh tea was not widely accepted because the raw character of puerh tea lacks the attractiveness and appeal of other types of tea. Only when the processing of puerh tea was later tweaked utilizing high heat to cook away the rawness of the tea, and introducing more pleasant aromas and taste to the brew that drinking young puerh became more widely accepted and thereafter gain in popularity. This change would cause the modern style of puerh tea to be known as a "drink now". Over the years my impression of puerh tea under the modern process is that the ageing potential has been compromised, or altered towards a different trajectory which can be seen as questionable at best.
*The concept of the “rawness of puerh tea” is used to describe the base material, tea leaves that retain their raw nature.