Millets and Other Grains · FFET10461
Buckwheat
Buckwheat has sweet and bitter types; it is ground into flour for cakes, and bitter buckwheat is also used for tea.
Millets, sorghum, barley, oats, buckwheat and the other grains eaten as staples.
Buckwheat has sweet and bitter types, and its seeds can be ground into flour for cakes. Some Yi communities in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou use buckwheat as a staple, and buckwheat cakes also appear at weddings in northern Yi areas. Bitter buckwheat can also be roasted and steeped as tea.
What
Buckwheat is a crop whose seeds can be ground into flour for food. It has sweet and bitter types, and the flour is used for griddle pancakes and other cakes.2
When
A historical text describes buckwheat being sown around Start of Autumn and harvested in the eighth to ninth lunar months. It separately records bitter buckwheat being sown after the Spring She festival. These accounts describe historical cultivation.2
Where
Buckwheat is generally thought to originate where Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet meet. Some Yi communities in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou use it as a staple. A historical text also records cultivation in both northern and southern China and describes different food uses in each.1,2
How
Historical accounts describe northern cooks grinding buckwheat into flour for griddle pancakes eaten with garlic, while southern cooks made flour cakes. A separate account describes steaming bitter buckwheat flour and draining off the yellow liquid before making cakes. Bitter buckwheat can also be roasted and steeped as tea.2,3
Why
Buckwheat can be ground into flour for cakes, and bitter buckwheat can also be roasted for tea, so it is eaten in different ways in different regions.2,3
Impact and influence
FAO statistics for 2024 show China producing about 504,000 metric tons of buckwheat, second after Russia. The national grain production announcement for 2025 counts buckwheat among cereals but does not report it separately.3,4