Take a sample home and put lemon juice on it. What you will find is that the etches on dark marble show up white. Not at all attractive. And that's why only the white marbles are truly popular for kitchen counters. They show etches much less than the dark ones. Possibly use it as a vertical accent somewhere in your home (NOT a shower), but I wouldn't use it on any horizontal surface. Maybe a gorgeous full height backsplash where you have no uppers on a wall....or in an entry way directly facing you as a focal point. Think of it as art, not a work surface.

I think the marble naysayers have jumped on the bandwagon without really living with the stone. I have statuary in my bathrooms and love it. Most stains can be removed with a simple baking soda and water poultice. Acid etching is harder to deal with since it removes the polished surface, but its part of having a living stone in your home. If it becomes too bad, you can have it repolished. With a darker stone, you won't have as many issues as a white marble. In order to really know if you can live with it, I suggest you get a small sample of the stone and do some tests. Here is an example. http://www.dohiy.com/2013/04/21/marble-countertops-the-post-acid-test/ Please note that she used bleach and oxyclean to clean the stone after her test. Stay away from both since they can etch the stone just as much as an acidic food. Instead, clean with a ph neutral cleaner like isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and for heavy stains, the baking soda poultice mentioned above. You have to remember that marble has been used for centuries as flooring, table tops, countertops, etc. throughout the world and most of these installations are still here and aren't stained and etched to the point that it has been ripped out and replaced. Just think about all of he luxury hotels in Europe and how many times they have been exposed to Hangover type guests without any damage.

I have used both with good results. The main difference between Quartz and Granite are 1) price, 2) colour range. Granite generally works out cheaper, because you can buy the exact quantity you require. Quartz comes in large slabs of specific sizes- standard size being roughly 10'-0" x 4'6", so there tends to be more wastage if you don't plan the cutting well. But Quartz is pretty and comes in a wide range of colours and can be re-buffed at a later date. Quartz also comes in various thicknesses- the most commonly used being .75" to about 1.25". And especially when you use dark wood cabinets in a kitchen or bathroom, beige and white counter tops work very well. Some people go even with coloured counter tops like blue, orange, yellow. Natural stone in light colours tend to be porous and stain easily, so I prefer to go with pure black which is safe.

Thanks. I am aware of potential materials (e.g. quartz). I was looking more at what color combination works well with ash oak cabinet colors? Would a softer tone mimicking wooden countertop (e.g. brown/beige colors) work better or would a darker tone such as black/dark brown go well?