Bored With Quartz? View These Beautiful Exotic Granite Countertops

The featured kitchen above uses Magma Black granite.

Exotic Granite Countertops Add Interest and Color To A Kitchen

In recent years homeowners and designers have turned to quartz countertops in the kitchen. In a surprising turn, for the first time ever, quartz even overtook Granite as the number one choice for kitchen countertops among homeowners in the past few years. It makes perfect sense. New manufacturing techniques have made quartz more beautiful than ever, even allowing it to closely mimics natural materials like Carrara Marble. Quartz is durable, impervious to moisture, stain, and scratch-resistant, and provides an antibacterial surface for food preparation.

However, nothing is quite as luxurious and unique as a natural stone countertop. Exotic granite countertops are unmatched in their aesthetic beauty. Granite comes in a wide range of colors, and the naturally occurring variations mean that each slab is an individual work of nature's art. 

Whether it's cloudy and swirled, or speckled, brilliant, or neutral, Granite's natural coloration is simply magnificent! Granite offers a depth, natural movement, and energy that you will never match with a humanmade material like quartz.

If you've ever wondered what makes natural Granite so unique and stunning as a material, in this post, we're going to look at the science behind what makes Granite so unique. We'll also look at stunning and exotic granite species to consider if you're looking for a unique and stunning visual focal point for your kitchen.

Precisely What is Granite?

this kitchen features a granite known as “silicon gold” with bold organic veining and deep color contrasts.

Granite is an igneous rock that was slowly formed within the Earth's crust as magma cooled over millions of years. This gradual cooling is what made the crystals that give Granite its character. 

According to geology.com:

"Granite typically contains anywhere from 20 to 60% quartz along with a mix of other minerals like feldspar (10-65%), and 5-15% biotite, muscovite, and mica. Granite can also contain many trace minerals, including amphibole, iron oxide, and olivine. It's the proportion and variety of trace minerals of which give each slab of Granite its unique colors and patterns."

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Every region of the world is known for certain species of Granite. Beautiful species can be found everywhere, including in North America, Eastern and Western Europe, India, and Brazil.

Nine Exotic and Unique Granite Species

One of the most significant advantages of Granite is that even if two homeowners decide on the same species for their countertops, each will be unique! The best way to guarantee that you'll love your new granite countertops is to see it in slab form. 

Here are a few of the most beautiful and exotic granite species available for your kitchen countertops.

Agatha Black Granite - Brazil

Agatha Black (also called Agata granite) is jet black with white and grey veining giving it a beautiful feeling of movement. It's a deep luxurious granite that is a popular choice for contemporary style kitchen designs and partners perfectly with light-colored cabinets.

Mendoza Black Granite – Northwestern Spain

This species comes from Galician quarries located in Northwestern Spain near Portugal. Its allure comes from its rarity. The small quarries predominantly supply material used in the construction of elaborate Catholic churches. Mendoza Black is mostly cream-colored with dark specks.

Green River Granite – Wyoming, United States

In the Wyoming desert, a former lake bed has become the source of the richest concentration of fossilized Granite in the entire world. If you're looking for truly unique material for your home, look no further! The slabs are carefully cut to preserve the various fossil species, which become a unique form of prehistoric art!

Bordeaux Granite – Brazil

This family of Granite native to Brazil features deep, rich red tones, hence "Bordeaux." It blends beautifully with other kitchen features in creamy white or beige. The deep luxurious and vibrant red tones are complemented with veins and swirls in gray and white. This is an energetic species that is the perfect balance of warm wine red and rose with contrasting gold, white, and black swirled throughout.

Virginia Mist Granite – Virginia, United States

This popular Granite is quarried in Virginia and Canada and is one of the more affordable mid-priced species. It features a dusty black background with swirls of gray. It's also called American Black, Virginia Black, or Jet Mist. It's available with both a glossy finish, or if you're looking for a matte finish, get it with a leathered finish.

White Supreme Granite – Northern India

White Supreme is an exquisite species. It features large areas of swirls and pooling eddies with a snowy white background and gray veins and specks throughout. It's pairs well with stainless steel and adds elegance to any kitchen.

Del Mare Granite – Brazil

Del Mare is a deep rich green stone that is a stunning greenish-gray with darker green veins. Also known as Delmar Granite, Delmare Granite, and Costa Del Mare, it's a stunning visual element in your kitchen, that blends well with the other aspects of your kitchen décor. 

Grigio Sardo Granite – Italy

Although Italy is most famous for its stunning marble, some of the most beautiful Granite is quarried around the countries many active volcanos. Grigio Sardo looks like a futuristic camouflage pattern and is often used in exterior applications. 

Balaban Green Granite - Turkey

This is an extremely durable species that comes from one of the few quarries that operate in Turkey. It's an exotic species that is as attractive as it is rare. Turkey holds large granite deposits, but they are located at extreme altitudes. Because of the difficulty mining at extreme heights, Balaban production is limited to a single quarry. If you're looking for a truly unique countertop, look no further.

When It Comes To Exotic Granite, Keep the Following in Mind

no, this is not granite! quartz countertops have developed to the point where you can have the same organic patterns of a granite countertop with the lower maintenance of quartz. this is cambria bradshaw quartz.

Shopping for granite slabs is one of the most fun projects when remodeling your kitchen. It's always a good idea to see your future countertop in slab form to get an accurate view of the stone's unique characteristics like veining and the flow of the stone. 

When shopping, look for any hairline cracks, natural pits, or other quirks in the stone, they can give your countertops an enhanced natural beauty. However, they can also make it more likely to get damaged, especially if your countertops are less than one inch thick. 

When adequately sealed annually and cared for, granite countertops can last a lifetime. Granite is a natural material that's easy to clean, and thanks to the wide variety of species, colors, and patterns available, it's a great way to add your stamp to your new kitchen!

If you live in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area and would like to learn more about the benefits of natural granite countertops, why not give the award-winning design team at Degnan Design Build Remodel a call at (608) 846-5963. Let us help you source the perfect granite countertop to express your unique sense of style!

This article was updated by Abe Degnan on 8/28/2022.