an apparatus and method of roasting foodstuff such as coffee beans employ a roasting chamber for roasting the beans . an air circulation system operatively coupled with the chamber flows heated air over the beans and thereby roasts the beans , and an air cleaning arrangement is operatively coupled with the air circulation system and located downstream of the chamber for removing substantially all particulates , smoke and volatiles entrained in the used air as it flows through the container and into the air cleaning arrangement to provide substantially pollutant - free used air . the circulation system uses atmospheric air and heats , cleans and cools it within as little as ¼ second . sensors and a electronic controller are provided to monitor various parameters in the roasting apparatus and control the roasting characteristics . the darkness and / or color of the beans during roasting is monitored to ensure proper roasting . the roasting in roasting machines at a plurality of geographically separate locations is controlled by equipping each roasting machine with a computer with memory and providing a central control station for downloading control signals to the computer to control roasting .