You hear a lot of buzz about quartz countertops in your kitchen, but a lot of people do not know what it is. When you hear the phrase "quartz countertops" it is a generic term that refers to an engineered stone countertops. As you know, engineered means it is man made. Quartz is a clear rock that is found a lot in mountains, you can even see this rock in a lot of granite countertops. This quartz rock is ground up into a fine powder and is mixed with a resin and other polymers in a giant blender. That mixture is put into a slab and pressed with large amount of pressure to cause it to harden. Most engineered stone tops have more than 90% of quartz rock in them. The higher the percentage of quartz, the stronger the countertop will be. Quartz countertops are engineered to not require sealing or other maintenance. Quartz pricing is usually based by the amount of quartz rock that is in it as well as what country it is made in. Also, it is usually more expensive to manufacture the white colors due to the fact that it cannot have any cross contamination during the mixing process.