You can eat the Kombucha mother as the Kombucha mother is edible.
Although it might not look appetizing or look very good it's safe to eat the Kombucha mother or Kombucha starter.
A scoby can be refrigerated although it's not necessary.
Scoby is shelf stable without refrigeration but it can be refrigerated in a sealed container if you prefer.
The easiest way to store your kombucha scoby is in a sealed container in the fridge.
Always label the jar so that no one in the household gets rid of it by mistake!
The scoby then goes dormant and can be stored for up to 6 months.
The kombucha culture or SCOBY is shelf-stable, so it doesn't require refrigeration.
If you just bought a SCOBY, It's best to keep it at room temperature until you are ready to brew.
If you are in-between brews, just store it in a jar with a cloth cover much the same as your primary fermentation.
SCOBYs are at their best in warm temps, we find 75-80 grows the best SCOBYs.
This living culture can be negatively impacted by extremely hot and cold temps.
During each ferment, the mother scoby (the one you added) will produce a baby scoby.
Every scoby can be used four times before it gets too old and needs to be discarded.
With each batch of kombucha a baby scoby is produced and the process starts again, you will have a fridge full of scobys before you know it.