A carafea container is made, mostly, glass, into which liquids are poured. You could leave it that way, but there are differences between the different decanters.
First of all, the quality should be respected. It is true that some, often cheap, carafes are not suitable for hot liquids. Here it may be that the glass shatters because it expands too fast. In many cases it is on the product, whether it is suitable only for cold or hot liquids. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. So if you want to fill hot tea or cocoa in any case, should pay attention when buying, whether the respective carafe is suitable. In case of doubt prefer to buy a product from a well-known manufacturer, which characterizes the carafe exactly.
There are carafes open at the top, some have a fixed pouring plug, and some have a lid that needs to be removed or turned to pour.

High and long
Carafes that are tall and long can be placed very well in any refrigerator door. They are easy to take out and take up little space due to their height and small width. Often only cold water is made, but also fruit juice spritzers, cold tea or various juices can be filled.
If only water is poured, this can be made fruity with slices of orange or lemon.

Bulging and wide
There are carafes, which go down a bit in the width but still in the fridgefit. However, they occupy a little more space than the tall and slender decanters. Bellied decanters are mostly used for liquids that are supposed to breathe in the air. An example of this is red wine. Although this is often enjoyed warm to the room, there are also lovers who prefer to enjoy it chilled.
In bulbous decanters it looks especially nice when in the belly are colored additives such as fruit.

Carafe with coat
Meanwhile, there are carafes on the market, which have a kind of coating. This makes the carafe visually distinctive and easy to the touch. The coat ensures that the drinks stay cold or hot longer and isolates the interior.
The coat protects the hands against heat and cold and the liquids can be poured easily.

Carafe with fruit skewers
There are decanters that have a matching fruit skewer. Fruits such as strawberries, raspberries or kiwi are especially good here, but oranges and lemons can be cut into small pieces and skewered. The spit with the fruits is placed in the carafe and serves not only the decoration. By the contact of the fruits with the water this is aromatized. It can easily be pushed into the jar from each spit into each jar of fruit juice.

Carafe with sieve tab
There are carafes in whose sieve can be filled, for example, coffee or tea. So hot water can take on the flavors and the insert can then be easily removed from the carafe.