diff --git a/vars/Debian.yml b/vars/Debian.yml
index 6e58b35..7725f49 100644
--- a/vars/Debian.yml
+++ b/vars/Debian.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
-java: "openjdk-7-jre-headless"
+java: "{{ es_java | default('openjdk-7-jre-headless') }}"
 default_file: "/etc/default/elasticsearch"
 es_home: "/usr/share/elasticsearch"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/vars/RedHat.yml b/vars/RedHat.yml
index faeec01..b0aa42b 100644
--- a/vars/RedHat.yml
+++ b/vars/RedHat.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 ---
-java: "java-1.8.0-openjdk.x86_64"
+java: "{{ es_java | default('java-1.8.0-openjdk.x86_64') }}"
 default_file: "/etc/sysconfig/elasticsearch"
 es_home: "/usr/share/elasticsearch"
\ No newline at end of file