My parents have always insisted that things come in threes. Whether that’s because they had three kids, I’ll leave that one alone.

Yesterday Typhoon Dolphin slammed into eastern China. Today a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit western Colombia, epicenter near San José del Palmar. The worst damage and the highest death tolls (reports currently around 70+, heaviest in Risaralda) landed squarely in the coffee highlands — Pereira, Manizales, Armenia and the surrounding Eje Cafetero.

Buildings collapsed. At least six regional airports are closed. Infrastructure is damaged.

Colombia is one of the world’s largest coffee exporters, and the Eje Cafetero is the heart of it. Short-term disruptions to harvesting, processing, transport and exports are very possible. That tends to push prices higher, at least temporarily. The pain wouldn’t stop at cafés and roasters. Specialty and third-wave players feel it first when costs jump. Packaging, paper cups and disposables follow the volume. Company coffee budgets get squeezed. In a stretched scenario, some consumers might even drift toward alternatives.

This is not a production wipe-out — the quake was relatively deep and early assessments are still coming in — but the region is sensitive, and closed airports plus damaged roads amplify the logistics mess.

I can barely get to bed tonight. If Mom and Dad’s rule holds, a third catastrophe is still out there somewhere, and I’d rather not invent what that looks like.

We were already eyeing a leaner Christmas after the typhoon. Now add potential sharp coffee price spikes on top.

Anyone else suddenly checking their bean stockpile and wondering what the third shoe will be? Drop it in the comments — misery loves company, and so does caffeine anxiety.