Inlaid with real gold, burnished for texture and hand-painted finishes are just a few of the choices. The problem here is grout lines. No one seems to want to deal with grout cleaning any more. Tile grout does require regular maintenance. Sealing the grout only means that cleaning will be easier to do.
Porcelain is harder than a rock and far more durable than conventional ceramic tile.
It also is more expensive. Ceramic tile and porcelain are more than twice the price of plastic laminates. New synthetic solid surface countertops are growing in popularity. The grout cleaning and maintenance problem disappears with solid-surface materials. You will be trading off grout cleaning for a surface that is less durable than tile.