I have black granite and I love them. It really is a design preference. In a white kitchen there will be a high contrast. What style is your home?

I regret dark Uba tuba granite. Constantly see water marks and any smears, streaks. Constantly feel I have to clean and polish it.

They are beautiful, but can be very streaky how much traffic is through your kitchen?

I have Verde Butterfly (black with green), sure it shows smears and streaks, at least you can find the dirt. They shine up beautiful. I have them with white cabinets, white subway tile, and Brazilian Cherry wood floors. I have had this look for 7 years now and have no regrets.

Depends on if you like shiny countertops or not. I did not want shiny countertops and so had a brushed (not honed) absolute black granite installed 8 years ago. Maintenance was so easy I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I will say that a flat black surface does absorb light (not a maintenance issue!) so if you go that route make sure your kitchen has great light.

We love the contrast of dark counters in our off-white kitchen, but they are soapstone not granite. Their matte finish looks great and takes very little day to day upkeep.

Yes and no. I still love our black granite work tops but they do look untidy very quickly (water marks etc). Although we found that some clean wipes make it easier to clean up on a regular basis, without it being a major chore. We have a lot of work top so anything that makes it easier to care for is a bonus.

I love sshopa'a comment about the easy care of brushed absolute black granite. That's exactly how my dark leathered quartzite performs - no maintenance required and nothing shows - it's amazing!

I have black granite in the hall bathroom, I absolutely hate it, it shows every spot. Here is a photo of the granite we just had installed in the kitchen, it hides everything always looks clean and it would be a great contrast with white (of course only my opinion).