Once you have decided on a clay grade, the next question is shape. Yixing has produced hundreds of forms over four centuries, and the differences are not only aesthetic. A pot's proportions change how heat moves, how much room the leaf has to open, and where aroma collects.
Here is how the classic shapes we carry behave, and which teas suit each.
Does teapot shape actually affect the tea?
It does, through three mechanisms. A tall narrow pot retains heat longer and produces a thicker liquor. A wide flat pot spreads heat across a larger surface and gives aroma somewhere to gather. And the internal volume determines how far compressed leaf can expand, which matters enormously for puerh and liu bao that arrive pressed into cakes and bricks.
Wide and low: for fragrance
Biandeng (flat lantern) and Shi Piao (stone ladle) both sit low and broad. Heat spreads evenly, aroma lifts and gathers under the lid, and the shallow body suits leaf that opens quickly. Best for dancong, yancha and other teas where fragrance is the whole event. The Shi Piao's straight geometry has made it the scholar's pot since the Qing, and it is also excellent with young sheng puerh.
Round and generous: for puerh and liu bao
Fang Gu, Pao Zun (gourd), Yun Tong Hu and the Da Long Dan (great dragon egg) all share a full belly. Compressed leaf needs room to unfurl, and these forms give it. Anything from 200ml up will brew comfortably for a table of three or four. Best for shou and sheng puerh, liu bao, and roasted oolongs that reward long steeps.
Small and focused: for precious tea
Xiao Da Bin at 50ml, Pan Hu and Junde at the same size. These are single-drinker pots, and the concentration is the point: a small volume of water against a generous measure of leaf gives a thick, intense liquor. Best for aged sheng, high-grade yancha, and anything rare enough that you want to taste it properly rather than dilute it across a table.
The classics: versatile all-rounders
Li Xing (pear form) and Xi Shi sit in the middle in every sense. Balanced proportions, typically 150ml to 200ml, and no strong bias toward any one category. If you are buying one pot and drink several kinds of tea, buy one of these. The Li Xing in particular is a first Yixing pot for many people and a lifelong one for most who start there.
The collector's forms
Ju Lun Zhu (giant wheel pearl) with its large flat button and cannon spout is a gongfu favourite. Duo Qiu (stacked spheres) uses a domed lid that preserves heat through convection, which measurably improves the liquor. Mo Yuan Zhai carries hand carving in the literati manner. These are pots people buy because they have fallen for the form, and they brew beautifully as well.
How big should my teapot be?
Match the pot to the number of drinkers, not to ambition. Roughly 100ml to 150ml serves one or two people well. 180ml to 250ml suits three or four. Above 250ml you are brewing for a table. A pot that is too large for your usual session will encourage you to under-leaf it, and under-leafed gongfu is thin tea.
What about red clay?
Zhao Zhuang Hong Ni, sometimes called Hong Pi Long, is one of the rarest Yixing ores and sits outside the standard grading. It is dense and high in iron, holds heat tightly and keeps aroma vivid, which makes it a natural choice for fragrant oolongs regardless of the shape it is thrown into.
If you are weighing up two shapes and cannot decide, tell us what you drink and we will tell you honestly which one we would reach for.