I saw a segment on Food TV this afternoon. They were redoing a kitchen and were installing quartz countertops.
Quartz is the forth hardest material on earth.
http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geog140/lectures/crustmaterials.htmlThese countertops resist staining, have almost infinite color choices because colors can be added in the manufacturing (they can even look like marble) and these aren't as expensive as granite. Here's a site with some info.
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/10342.shtml
![](http://images.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/13213/counter1.jpg)
I just realized that this is the same material SW FL Dem is using in her kitchen! Wow! This is some fabulous stuff!!!