They look very different, have you seen samples of both?

Why are you planning on staining them in the future -- why are they not being finished now?

You don’t stain anything that already has a finish “in the future”. It’s more money to strip and refinish than replacement. You live with what is, or you rip them out and do something different.

The builder is offering the absolute cheapest thing possible other than import garbage. If they are site built too? And site finished? You got a perfect trifecta storm of $1.98 specs.

If that’s all the level he will do, and you can’t upgrade, get the zero dollar upgrade with a laminate top and plan on doing a remodel before you ever move in.

Oak.

Alder is a fairly soft wood, I think Alder is still the most abundant wood in the Western U.S. For many years Alder was used only as a substrate material for quality veneers that were not going to get hard use. It has started to gain popularity for cabinets, but really it is not a great option for kitchen cabinets. Go ask this question on the forums at lumberjocks, Fine Woodworking or Sawmill Creek and I feel sure they will all feel Alder leaves a lot to be desired for kitchen cabinets.

ETA: https://www.advantagelumber.com/janka.htm

Where is the home? What style is it? Cabin, MCM, Traditional, Spanish? I happen to like the look of Alder, but it may not be as durable as would be needed in a high-use kitchen application. I would go with Oak, but stay away from the golden oak stain which has recently fallen out of favor by many. Sorry to hear that you have so few options in a new build.

Patty - Clarify this for me - the cabinets are going in unfinished and you're going to finish at a later date? Or they will be finished and you will RE-FINISH at a later date? What are the stain options the builder offers? Have you chosen a door/drawer style?

I put oak cabinets in my new build kitchen with a dark grayed/brown stain. They are red oak and plain sawn with the grain variation that comes with that method. I happen to like it, not everyone does and I'm certain that is what you will get from your builder due to price point. Right now quarter and rift sawn are popular because the grain patterns are more consistent but they are considerably more expensive. I am not a fan of Alder, don't particularly like the look, grain or knots but that's subjective. I have no idea how it rates in hardness. Red oak is a bit softer than white oak but still a very durable wood for the use a kitchen gets - that's why there are so many oak kitchens still in use. The decorating trends change far faster than you can wear out an oak kitchen.

Stain only goes on bare unfinished wood. You don’t put bare cabinets into a build. Ever.

Restaining cabinets means sanding all of the old stain out of the wood that has penetrated deep into the grain. That’s a lots of stripping and sanding. It would cost far more to make something like that happen than the cabinets are worth.

What you pick now has to be lived with until you are ready to do a remodel that replaced the cabinets.

Just my two cents... I’d stay away from rosewood. Coffee would be my choice- with oak.

Patty I think you're in for a world of pain if you go with your plan to restain. I've done a lot of furniture refinishing in my life but nothing remotely like a kitchen because I know how much work is involved in even a small table. I know there is a lot on the internet (right here at GW/Houzz, too) about using gel stain over an existing finish to update a kitchen and make it 'like new' blah blah blah.... Don't believe it and don't go there. Even if it weren't a cr@p-ton of work to do that on an entire kitchen (it is), you end up with a lousy finish and frankly, it looks like the shortcut that it is.

I'm with sml 3 - avoid the rosewood and do a dark brown.

No stain at all would be my vote. Just a clear coat. But, I bet that he is only offering dark stains to mask the quality of wood used.

Patty, take a look at the actual specs for these cabinets. And the whole build. This is not sounding like a good deal for you.

No. You do not want any unsealed wood in your house. Nor do you want to assume any part of the responsibility of failure under warranty. What warranty do these cabinets have? What type of warranty does your builder provide on the total build?

Patty if you can get some information from your builder it would help. What brand of cabinets will be installed? Have you seen actual samples of the stain colors you mention above? Have you seen them on oak or alder? I'm wondering what you're unhappy about with the choices offered. What is your *dream* stain color

I'm not a fan of oak. I have (clear) alder for all my cabinets. Alder can be stained to just about any color you want. Some of mine are a natural cherry tone. Some stained very dark wood, some black.

I once had an electric fender bass guitar made of alder, it was beautiful & unstained, but was sealed with clear sealer. Oak trees are beautiful but I'm not so fond of the look when used for cabinets, but that's just me. Use whatever you find to be beautiful!

I have Alder doors in my house, and far prefer to oak in cabinets.

Patty - the builder's Coffee Brown stain may not be as dark as Java or Espresso but if you look at examples of it online it's a fairly deep stain. If your goal is to completely obscure the wood grain, is painting an option for you?

We have light knotty alder cabinets in our kitchen and they look like they are brand new and are 6 years old. Love them. Would not consider oak at all. Just my 2 cents.

I am not a pro but have been watching clutterbug on YouTube use dark gel stain over golden oak and it looks fantastic. I'm going to try it on my end tables. She did her entire kitchen and all the wood in her house without sanding or stripping anything.