diff --git a/.ci/java-versions.properties b/.ci/java-versions.properties
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3398cc40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.ci/java-versions.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# This file is used with all of the non-matrix tests in Jenkins,
+# and is based on how the Elasticsearch project configures java
+# versions.
+
+# This .properties file defines the versions of Java with which to
+# build and test Elasticsearch for this branch. Valid Java versions
+# are 'java' or 'openjdk' followed by the major release number.
+
+ESH_BUILD_JAVA=openjdk14
+ESH_RUNTIME_JAVA=java11