Yeah buckwheat is like a starchy seed? You can make pancakes out of them! LOL
The pillows are filled with little buckwheat hulls, which are the outside part of the seeds.... so there's a bit of a crunch to it but it forms really well and lets you adjust the firmness to wherever you'd like in the pillow. I really love them because they're so cool all the time (I hate having a warm pillow). No idea why they're so good with air circulation but I like it!