Stone coasters are among the most long lasting and durable of all of the coasters that you can buy. One problem is that you can’t put them through a dishwasher or they will possibly crack or fall apart. Stone also does not react well to detergents so in some ways stone coasters are not the most hygienic of coasters you can buy however this is not always an issue.

To get around this some manufacturers of stone coasters have done things like put a varnish on the stone to protect it from water damage, almost as if they are tile coasters ().

Some manufacturers only make stone coasters from imported stones. Some are more porous than others. This porous stone is hard to clean but on the other hand it is the best type of stone to use if you are going to make stone coaster out of it. This is because the porous stone will soak up any moisture from a spilled beverage quite readily. This is a bonus if you have your coasters sitting on wood furniture.

For beer some companies sell sandstone drink coasters which are a smooth stone with a very wavy pattern. Indian sandstones also a good type of stone to use and it is attractive to look at as it has very wavy lines. These types of coasters have tiny rubber bumpers on them to prevent them from sliding off of the table and also to prevent the stone from damaging the surface of the table.

Slate drink coasters can be very attractive because some types of slate from Africa come in weld color combinations. African stone coasters usually come in blue and yellow and these are real collector’s items. There are gold blush slate drink coasters as well. These are from North America and they have many subtle layers of color within the stone that gives them an understated look of sophistication.

Some of these stone coasters are actually considered to be objects of art that are collectibles. The rainbow stone coasters made out of Indian sandstone are brilliant yellow collector’s objects. The Panther stone coasters () are also Indian but have a more striped feathery gold and brown tone to them. Earth stone coasters made out of Indian slate are also sought after as collectibles and are grey green in color. Red earth stone coasters are actually bright mustard yellow in hue.

If you like sea green colors then you will like the lime green hue of the Indian limestone coasters or the coasters made out of black Brazilian slate (which is actually a deep and mysterious looking mossy green). Another lovely coaster is the copper Indian slate stone which has a hint of orange in the sea green depths of the actual stone.

Indian slate also comes in a color called gold blush which is green with a gorgeous yellow sheen. A very rare coaster is the multicolored Chinese slate coaster which is a stone that when cut into slab looks like maps of the earth with small brown continents and islands with the rest of the area on the stone slab looking like the sea.