I have white macaubus in my kitchen for about a year. Absolutely no problem with etching standing scratching etc. I read one of the postings above someone said "Quartzites will etch and stain, they are a softer stone. If you're not extremely fastidious, you could have issues." that person obviously does not know what quartzite is, or have even seen one in person. I have had all sorts of sauce left on the courter overnight and not wiped it clean until the next day. Never have problem. Lemon juice, salad dressing, tomato juice, you name it. Get a sample and bring home to test. That's the best way to find out what you are looking at.

Wow, your kitchen looks beautiful! I love your stacked cabinets with the glass doors on top, as well as those gorgeous counters. Having the stone surround for the sink set into the walnut was a great idea. I can't wait to see more pictures. What are you doing for the backsplash?

Thanks Lily Spider :) My inspiration photos all have marble counters lol!!! butI think I'm back on track again - I love classic and I wanted real stone so I think thats why I went the black granite route (though I guess this seems strange after considering marble!)… I've always liked honed black granite and I need to be somewhat practical re the kids - one of the reasons for the kitchen reno (besides the fact that we moved here a year ago and the current kitchen is awful) is to provide space for the kids to be able to 'eat in kitchen' at the peninsula during the younger years while they are still messy (i.e. dropping food everywhere) and to provide a place for them to color/hang out etc while I'm cooking…I don't want to be on top of them the whole time which is why I ruled out the stones that etched/stained/scratched - I think the black granite is a good compromise for me and usability for them and will work in well with the other components of the kitchen…thanks for getting me back on track Lily Spider (my husband almost had a heart attack when I said I was second guessing lol)

I'm betting the tomato juice etched the basket containing the tomatoes and the countertop, making the top green. Experiment with a poultice to remove the stain, but the etch is going to have to be professionally removed. Oh, and get used to this. It's going to happen regularly.