Go to the master of butcher blocks, Boos (www.johnboos.com) to learn about best woods and styles. Maple is the winner if you are really going to use the block.

Are you thinking actual butcher block with end grain? On this forum and elsewhere, any wood counters seem to be referred to as butcher block. We have maple wood counters on our island in our main kitchen and also as perimeter counters at our lake house. They are quite light coloured, but maybe end grain would be darker?

People generally recommend you use mineral oil, or use oil and bees wax if you actually use it (as opposed to having it as a table surface. If you put regular finish on it, some color will change with the finish and over time, the maple under the finish will golden. The finishes are causing some pictures of maple to be different. Maple is a natural product, so some color differences between pieces are to be expected - John boos has some magnificent maple - looks like every piece in the counter was cloned. John Boos also makes commercial counters with lesser color standards. Other companies may also, but I'm only familiar with Mr. Boos. Some makers that I've seen over time allow knots and other wood defects.

Naked maple is the lightest but also the weakest at resisting stains. Whether you can have that depends on both the weather and the natural tidiness of the family. Cleans up with water or light soapy water and a scrubby. I live in a high humidity location and have steam heat and I can get away with naked. Every once in a while, I will hit it with very hot water, let it rest a minute, then scrubby and rinse. Maple is naturally disinfectant when dry - meaning that as the counter dries, it all dies.

Oil, or even better oil and bees wax, will protect the surface from humidity issues and also staining. Still cleans up with water, or slightly soapy water - cloth or scrubby. I would suggest a more through cleaning once a year or so - equivalent to a light sanding - to strip old wax and oil off. It will also remove any aging from the finish.

This is ours when it was pretty new. The ends are walnut.