Gramps,
When I was a young quorum leader, in the 70’s, the Presiding Bishop of the Mormon Church came to our stake and told us, though it visibly upset a local bishop or two, that drinking decaffeinated coffee is not against the Church and they were not authorized to deny recommends over its use. To stem the controversy in the meeting, he sent to our stake a copy of a letter he had previously issued declaring decaffeinated coffee approved. I don’t like the smell of any coffees and have never drunk any ever, but that was the word of the Presiding Bishop on his letterhead to our stake. Our bishop posted this letter on the ward bulletin board but some overzealous person ripped it down before I could make a copy.
More problematic than decaf is the use of green tea in some oriental countries by members, especially in Korea where my nephew served a mission. Authorities there did not teach against it. I have since learned green and black tea come from the same plant with similar potencies, despite the high recommendation green tea received from the defunct Dr. Atkins and other health officials.
Gary, from Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Dear Gary,
Here we go again!! The Word of Wisdom is one of the highest traffic items on our web site. You could probably receive the information you desire simply by accessing the site, and entering in the Search Ask Gramps box, hot drinks, green tea, decaf, and other related words. However, we will take another stab at a couple of your questions.
So the Presiding Bishop of the Mormon Church put out a letter stating that decaf was not against the Word of Wisdom. Let me ask you a question, is strychnine against the Word of Wisdom? The fact that the Presiding Bishop made the statement that decaf is not against the Word of Wisdom is by no means a recommendation for its use. The reason that it is not against the Word of Wisdom is because it was unknown when the Word of Wisdom was revealed to the Church, and is nowhere mentioned in that revelation. Since the Word of Wisdom is a canonical document, members of the Mormon Church are obligated by their acceptance of the scriptures to abide by its precepts or receive the sanctions of the Church. So, drinking decaf, or drinking Coke for that matter, is not an issue upon which a temple recommend is based.
But we are constrained as members of the Church not to take any harmful substance into our systems, for—
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Cor 3:16-17).
In addition, we are constrained to abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thes 5:22). If you choose to drink decaf, because you could get away with it and not be sanctioned by the Church, and did so in a restaurant where you would be known by others there as a Mormon, what do you think that they would think and say about you and about the Church that you represent? “These Mormons preach about the Word of Wisdom, but look at how they act about when they are out in public?”
To avoid the unjust criticisms that Mormons always receive for any act that the critics perceive that could be interpreted as an action contrary to the principles or practices of the Church, you would have to hang a sign around your neck, saying to the effect that what you were drinking was only decaf, and that it does not contradict the doctrine of the Church as does non-decaffeinated coffee. GIVE ME A BREAK!
Gramps