Why is white chocolate technically not considered chocolate?

White chocolate is often considered a misnomer because it lacks the defining components of traditional chocolate. To be classified as true chocolate, a product must be prepared from ground, roasted cacao beans, which contain both cocoa solids and cocoa butter.12

While white chocolate is derived from the cacao bean, it is made exclusively from cocoa butter—the fat pressed out of the beans—rather than the cocoa solids that provide the characteristic color and flavor of dark chocolate or milk chocolate. Because it lacks these essential cocoa solids, it is technically categorized as a confection made of cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids, lecithin, and flavorings.423